Italian luxury house Versace has announced that Donatella Versace, after 28 years, is stepping down as chief creative officer and transitioning into an ambassadorship role.
Versace — a rare woman at the creative helm of a big fashion brand and a cultural icon known for her empowerment of women and LGBTQ+ communities — is the younger sister of designer Gianni Versace, who founded the label in 1978. She became creative director in 1997 after Gianni was murdered.
The house of Versace has a unique heritage and an unabashedly maximalist aesthetic with its signature baroque prints, vivid color palette and seductive feel. Under Donatella Versace’s direction, the brand has produced high-profile campaigns starring Madonna, Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez. Its runway shows are often a spectacle featuring a phalanx of supermodels. And it has also collaborated with celebrities, such as pop star Dua Lipa, to co-design fashion collections.
So vast is Versace’s cultural impact that Lady Gaga named a song after her; Penelope Cruz played her in the drama “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”; and she made a cameo as herself in the movie “Zoolander.”
As the 69-year-old ends her creative reign, her successor will become the brand’s first ever designer from outside the family.
