Donatella Versace steers the Versace brand into the future with a new creative director and development of the company’s Design District home store.
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“Strong and powerful women can love frivolity too,” says Donatella Versace, artistic director of the fashion brand, which opened its first Versace Home store in the Design District last spring.
Since taking the helm of Versace nearly two decades ago, Donatella Versace has built a brand that is as synonymous with Italian glamour and luxury as it is with American pop culture. From Jennifer Lopez’s provocative Grammy Awards dress to the plethora of celebrities—most recently, Madonna—who have posed for the brand’s ad campaigns, Versace is constantly finding ways to create newness and excitement.
“Versace is more than just a brand to me; it is family, and its DNA and traditions are in my blood,” says Donatella Versace. “What interests me is taking those traditions and pushing them forward into the future. I am obsessed with the future—to me, the past is boring.”
And with the recent announcement of white-hot designer Anthony Vaccarello as the creative director of the brand’s sister label, Versus Versace, the future seems brighter than ever. “I’ve followed Anthony’s work from his very first collection, and as soon as I met him I realized he was the one,” says Versace of the choice. “He gets it. I love his fresh energy and innovation.”
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Mod laser-cut minidresses in graphic patterns and sorbet-on-acid colors from the Spring 2015 collection.
The Versus line is particularly close to Versace’s heart, as it was originally created by her late brother, Gianni (Gianni Versace was killed outside his Miami Beach mansion, Casa Casuarina, in 1997). “It was the label Gianni created for me to capture the rebellious soul of Versace,” she says. “It has always been about youth and energy, and the best way to keep true to its origins is to encourage new talents in global fashion.”
This spirit of youth and energy is also alive and well in the Versace Spring 2015 ready-to-wear collection, which features midriff-baring tops worthy of an SLT devotee, floor-length skirts with up-to-there slits, and mod laser-cut minidresses begging for a night out at LIV in sorbet-on-acid pops of color and graphic black and white. To complement the collection, there are two new reinterpretations of the Signature and Palazzo handbags, the L.Signature bag and the L.Palazzo bag. The L.Signature features laser-cut leather lined with transparent PVC along with gold Medusa medallion accents, while the slightly less structured L.Palazzo offers laser-cut styling with a single Medusa accent. Each of the new styles is available in shades of soft pink and light blue, as well as classic white and black.
“I wanted Spring 2015 to feel like hitting the refresh button—everything was bold, vivid, and precise,” says Versace of her inspiration, adding that the bags were created with a sense of playfulness that will resonate with Miami trendsetters. “The bags are light, refreshing, and fun, because strong and powerful women can love frivolity too, right?”
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Donatella Versace at work.
And really, this juxtaposition between power and play, between the sophisticated severity of black and the pure optimism of powder pink, has long been Versace’s forte. It’s an unabashedly confident, no-holds-barred approach to design that translates well with the women of South Florida. “Women in Miami live life to the fullest,” says Versace. “Miami is pure energy, from the passion and provocation of the city to the daring, strength, and fearlessness of the women who live there.”
Last spring, Versace opened the company’s Versace Home store, which carries the brand’s complete line of furniture, lighting, wallpaper, fabrics, and tableware, in the Design District. “It has been such a thrill to see Miami develop into a destination for the art and design world, and the Design District is now one of the most exciting retail destinations in the world, a focal point for true creativity,” says Versace of the concept, which she created with architect Jamie Fobert. “It’s the perfect location for a 21st-century Versace store.”
Looking forward, Versace is staying busy with her many duties as artistic director of the house, from overseeing the direction of each collection to envisioning the design of the Versace boutiques and Palazzo Versace hotels to mapping out the future strategy of the brand. It’s all in a day’s work for the petite powerhouse.
“I love the variety, from the first conversations about a new season through the design process to the show itself, and then afterwards the campaigns and the product hitting stores,” she says. “I couldn’t imagine a job where I did the same thing every day.” Bal Harbour Shops, 9700 Collins Ave., 305-864-0044; Miami Design District, 186 NE 39th St., 305-573-8345