In Conversation With Donatella Versace on the Future of the Italian Maison
After conquering Los Angeles with a stellar show, Donatella Versace traces the coordinates for the future of Versace.
Coming off the success of Versace’s mega show in Los Angeles, Donatella Versace is a river of thoughts and emotions. The show, which took place in March two days before the Oscars at the Pacific Design Center, revealed the brand’s new look to a stellar front row of celebrities, including Elton John, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, Cher, Anne Hathaway, Lil Nas X, Demi Moore, Channing Tatum, and Pamela Anderson. On the runway, models Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Naomi Campbell, Vittoria Ceretti, Emily Ratajkowski, and more wore tailored suits and cocktail dresses inspired by Gianni Versace’s mid-’90s designs. Also present in the collection were daytime classics like boot-cut denim and crisp white shirts, plus party-ready gowns in an assortment of retro florals.
“This season I wanted luxury. Simplicity—I think that represents true luxury today: a special, unique, precious fabric and a perfect cut. No embroidery, no superstructures, and no tinsel, but instead, architecture, cuts, and forms,” says Versace. “If I had to summarize this season, and my future work for the Maison, in a word, I would say that it is the essence of luxury.”
Ahead of the show, L’OFFICIEL caught up with the legendary designer on creating looks for the stars, her own insecurities, and a new kind of Versace woman.
A mega show in LA, an aesthetic manifesto of renewed elegance, a reference to ‘90s Hollywood glamour, and a lineup of A-list celebrities. How do you define glamour today?
DONATELLA VERSACE: Versace has always been a brand for strong women who are not afraid to go out, expose themselves, and be glamorous—women who believe in themselves.
How hard is it to dress a celebrity?
They’re generally very shy and insecure. When you put a dress on them, they act. When they go out in a dress, they are queens. It’s an incredible transformation. All real artists are insecure, but then you see them come out transformed because they go into that part of themselves.
"After so many years of work, I still wonder if a dress will be beautiful enough. I'm always a little scared.
Why do stars love Versace so much?
Because Versace has always exalted the body of a woman. I have always dressed strong, self-confident, and beautiful women, transforming them in a certain way.
What is your relationship with celebrities today, considering you’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the biggest stars?
It’s a very personal, intimate relationship. If I don’t know a celebrity, then I can’t work with them. I can’t picture how to dress them. The best work with a star comes from mutual exchanges. With Dua Lipa, for example, we are friends. This helps me understand how to design for her. With our celebrities, I try to have a special bond. I listen to their words, their emotions, and their fears. They have to go on stage in front of the world, and what they wear can become an aid to give them more security, to give them a little superpower.
Do women still need to feel strong in a dress today?
Women are strong. They have become very strong, but a dress can make them feel even stronger and more safe, like a shell that protects them from the world.
Which of today’s stars do you like? Is there someone who has won you over?
It is very difficult to choose just one. Right now, maybe Doja Cat. I like her. She’s a person who never stops thinking, daring, pushing boundaries, and experimenting. She’s an exceptional girl, very smart, and has an incredible sense of fashion. But what I love about her most is her ability to transform into a dress. She’s a daring woman, similar to Madonna in the early years of her work. I love it. She’s one of the most intuitive and creative women out there right now.
Throughout your creative journey, you have outlined an image of a specific woman. How would you define the Versace woman today?
Luxury, in a word. She’s a luxurious woman. She wears an architectural wardrobe, made of beautiful cuts and fabrics. Perfection. A perfect dress is the best gift you can give a woman. When a woman feels beautiful, confident, and strong wearing a dress, that’s the best gift she can receive. This means I did my job well. The Versace woman today? There is not just one, and she is never the same woman. One day she could be Dua Lipa, and the next day she could be a sophisticated lady who loves to wear powerful femininity. Choosing Versace gives you a little dream of luxury, perfection, and strength. If there were only one Versace woman, I would be angry. And the same goes for the Versace man. I don’t like to talk about a Versace man or a Versace woman, but rather about a community.
And do you feel like a Versace woman?
I’m Versace. [Laughs.] But actually, I have a lot of insecurities, too. I don’t show them, but I’ve got plenty. After so many years of work, I still wonder if a dress will be beautiful enough. I’m always a little scared, even during the shows I’m afraid that something will go wrong. When Gianni was there, he said to me, “Imagine, it will be fine.” [Laughs.]
How do you overcome fear?
I close my eyes and imagine I’m in another place, then I open them again and move on. I dream of being in the place I love most: the sea. This image is the thing that calms me down and helps me move on.
What is the most frightening moment?
Ten minutes before every show starts, I always think that a dress will break or that a model is sick. I’m kind of panicking. But it’s never happened. It’s a non-existent fear, but it gets me every time. Each show forces you to confront the world. Undoubtedly I like what I do, but will others like it? I always wonder. We are Versace, so we have to prove that we are something great.
How hard is it to be Donatella Versace?
Very difficult. [Laughs.] I wish I wasn’t recognized; people ask me for a selfie and I’m ashamed. In the end, I’m shy. It is not difficult to be Donatella Versace; it’s difficult to be the artistic director of a company with this history. It’s hard. You can’t go wrong; you have to understand young people—the zeitgeist, both intellectual and digital. Especially digital.
"The real luxury for me today is in the perfection of a silhouette, in the construction of a dress."
But you were quick to join the digital world.
If there is something new, I want to be the first to be there and to understand it. The digital world affects us a lot. It must be accepted. It’s a new reality that we must get used to. I like everything that’s evolving. I was not born in the digital age, but I understand that this is the world today.
You’ve had wonderful times.
I have experienced incredible moments that will never happen again because the world has changed. But the emotions...how wonderful. Gianni was always more insecure than I was, and I gave him strength; but it’s not like I wasn’t afraid. I was pretending. If I think about those moments—I don’t want to be nostalgic—but Italian and international fashion were born in those moments.
And how has it changed today? There’s a lot of branding, Instagram, marketing, etc.
What I insisted on is tailoring, not to return to old styles but as a technique to try new things. I still have my atelier here in my office. I love the women who work there, and the LA fashion show is very focused on that. It is very atelier, not considered to be high fashion, but as a way to build a dress so that it’s perfect.
How did the idea of having a show in LA come about?
DV: This season I wanted a change. Although I love Milan, which has made great strides as a metropolis and as a fashion city with a global resonance, I wanted to experience a different environment. Also, I yearned to do something outdoors with a more direct, strong contact with nature. I felt the need to create a uniquely special experience. That’s why I thought of LA—a city that I love and am deeply attached to.
What does this city mean to you?
I go to LA a lot. I love the two stories it tells: the more glamorous one of cinema and celebrities, but also the one of nature, of the boys—healthy, beautiful, and athletic—who play sports on the beach. I like the idea of a city populated by people who care, externally and internally, at a spiritual level. It’s a city that combines, better than any other, its metropolitan soul and its natural soul. It’s a city that lives on juxtaposition: total relaxation on the one hand, and extreme worldliness on the other. And nowhere [else do] these two opposites live together.
How much of Donatella Versace exists in the City of Angels?
I often come here for vacation because I am so tied to this city. It speaks to me in such a deep way: private, intimate, and healthy remoteness. There is a mundane face to the city, one that is illuminated by the spotlight. But then it is also generous; it inspires. The underground creative scene allows for innovative views on art, sculpture, and literature. LA is an open-air factory, a meeting place for newness...or at least for experiencing it. The city is a laboratory where you are welcomed to create the future.
Does this idea of experimentation also appear in the new collection? What was the creative process that led you to the garments on the runway?
I started with a word: Elegance. Especially with the context that this show takes place a few days before the Oscars. I am reminded of the iconic, elegant [old Hollywood] actresses from the big screen. They had relatively private personal lives, but when they walked the red carpet, they were ready to embody a breathtaking charm, an incredible chicness. I always imagined this to be the real glamour of LA. During my creative journey with this collection, I looked back to one of Gianni’s collections from 1995. We did a photo shoot with Richard Avedon, Kristen McMenamy, and Nadja Auermann in LA. I wanted to embody this need for something more structured, more tailored, and more dressy for this season.
So this season is a bit of a farewell to the streetwear universe and an embrace of the idea of classic elegance?
Yes, you need to go back to tailoring and think a little less streetwear. I wanted true glamour—the inconspicuous, the one that is not only made of sequins and glitter. I wanted to really dress the woman, giving her a silhouette full of charm.
Your design manifesto seems to be based on a return to the essence of tailoring.
Yes, you have to hone in on a new concept around tailoring. We have to take into account what young women want as well. The essence of fashion is a jacket, a dress, cut to perfection to enhance the body. Eliminating those “aesthetic” frills that come from styling. I’ve done it before, but this season I was really focused on the architecture of the dress.
If you had to choose a garment and a color to tell your idea of elegance today, what would you choose?
Black, first of all, is a symbolic color. And then a little black dress, a timeless icon that even Gianni rethought and recreated several times. Everyone wants a perfect little black dress in their closet that makes them feel beautiful. This is the real luxury of today. Not couture. But a return to the roots of this Maison. The real luxury for me today is in the perfection of a silhouette, in the construction of a dress.
You have often mentioned the archive and the history of the Maison as inspiration for this season. How does it interact with the history of Versace?
I don’t need to go to the archive to remember the story of Versace: it’s all in my head. I prefer my memory to reality. I didn’t even use those garments when I started creating this season. I preferred to give them to the dressmakers of the atelier and the creative team to leave them free to reread the past through today’s lens. I like living in the present and discovering the future through the eyes of a curious child.
In all these years of your career, have you ever felt like you have finally “arrived?”
The most beautiful moment is the one we haven’t experienced yet! I’ve always been excited about the future, about what’s yet to come. Even today, I don’t feel like I’ve “arrived.” I don’t think that’s gonna happen, fortunately. I have many things to say, many ideas, and even more projects. One life will not be enough to realize them all. Or maybe it will. We’ll see.
