Donatella Versace - Designer, Creative Director of Versace

[proseccotabis]

Agree with your observations!
I'm surprised the CEO said they cut out their aspirational customers whilst trying to elevate the brand, I did not notice any elevation.. if anything the brand in the last 3/4 years has lost most of what fashion credibility it still had, the products have further cheapened - which is quite dangerous when some of its signatures, prints and 'DNA' can teeter on the edge of that already if not done well.
Unfortunately no Riccardo, possibly that ship has sailed. He was supposed to go there post-Givenchy, with a type of 'co-collaboration' between them (hence putting Donatella in that Givenchy campaign), except it was called off last minute when Donatella found out he had wanted to mostly run it himself, and she had expected she would still have final say on everything. Wasn't clear if the company went behind her back or he was very ambitious on his own. A shame because he would've been very good there, and think could've had a genuine connection and elevated back into a fashion conversation, more naturally than what happend at Burberry.
Donatella is leaving early 2025, her replacement has already signed and will be announced soon.

Any hint as to who the replacement might be?

 

[brandon J pierre]

They are replacing her while trying to sell the brand? She is an asset (still).
What a weird decision.

Donatella is a cultural icon so I’m not sure getting rid of her in a aggressive manner would work. It’s what happened with Valentino.

Very very strange as if she's being forced out when she's actually such a big part and face of the brand. She Actually is the last Versace girl. This seems like a bad time for them to change. Donatella is a cultural icon and bring lots of good publicity to the brand after all these years. They should have never sold!

 

[brandon J pierre]

Any hint as to who the replacement might be?

Who can do this other then her ?

 

[JohannesL]

There's a possibility that as Versace is up for sale, Donatella will step down from her role after her contract expires in February:

Then she can't rebuke the branding of Versace by Riccardo Tisci supposing the new owner has the common sense here to hire Tisci!

 

[brandon J pierre]

Then she can't rebuke the branding of Versace by Riccardo Tisci supposing the new owner has the common sense here to hire Tisci!

They should have worked out the collaboration

 

[PDFSD]

ok so this is what i understood so far Dario is leaving Miu Miu its confirmed, but the rumor part is that he is going to versace in what capacity i did not get.

 

[proseccotabis]

ok so this is what i understood so far Dario is leaving Miu Miu its confirmed, but the rumor part is that he is going to versace in what capacity i did not get.

Considering he is adamant to commit to a large role fully I would prèsume he will consult ?

 

[Lola701]

Very very strange as if she's being forced out when she's actually such a big part and face of the brand. She Actually is the last Versace girl. This seems like a bad time for them to change. Donatella is a cultural icon and bring lots of good publicity to the brand after all these years. They should have never sold!

No, selling was necessary.
Versace was not profitable for a long time despite fairly good revenues. So they needed a structure that will manage, invest and push the growth.
The problem is who they sold to.

They sold Versace for a little bit more than 2 billion, expecting sales of 2 billions.
At the time of the sales, the majority of revenues came from RTW. I think it was 60%. So Kors succeeded in pushing their accessories.

But the fact that there are issues is not surprising. A luxury brand and a mass premium brand are still different in terms of positioning. And the tactics for pushing sales for a MK are undeniably different from the ones that should be used for Versace.

The best thing that could happen to them is being sold to Mayhoola or the Elkann but I don’t see the brand being sold more or at a matching price of the original sale.

 

[proseccotabis]

Who can do this other then her ?

Considering her heinous contributions for the past while at this point anyone would do a better job than Donatella. She managed to turn Versace into a Philip Plein copy but with glitter

 

[brandon J pierre]

No, selling was necessary.
Versace was not profitable for a long time despite fairly good revenues. So they needed a structure that will manage, invest and push the growth.
The problem is who they sold to.

They sold Versace for a little bit more than 2 billion, expecting sales of 2 billions.
At the time of the sales, the majority of revenues came from RTW. I think it was 60%. So Kors succeeded in pushing their accessories.

But the fact that there are issues is not surprising. A luxury brand and a mass premium brand are still different in terms of positioning. And the tactics for pushing sales for a MK are undeniably different from the ones that should be used for Versace.

The best thing that could happen to them is being sold to Mayhoola or the Elkann but I don’t see the brand being sold more or at a matching price of the original sale.

I hope for a turn around but they have always had problems with money even when her brother was alive. They do need fresh blood, and a completely different look they have cheapened over the years and not in a good way. Donatella is very press savvy, they're going to have to go back and focus on making beautiful products that stand out. For me for such is always right at the top but never actually there.

 

[PDFSD]

Considering he is adamant to commit to a large role fully I would prèsume he will consult ?

thats the milan & co friends circle saying he is going to versace but how i dont know if its true for sure and what position ...also i did not ask more because i was not interested at the moment i did not know of the DV article in wwd lol

 

[proseccotabis]

thats the milan & co friends circle saying he is going to versace but how i dont know if its true for sure and what position ...also i did not ask more because i was not interested at the moment i did not know of the DV article in wwd lol

Similarly to you I heard that too! I hope its true because Fabio is great!

 

[FashionPower]

It's funny how they still talking about brand elevation when Versace has been a Michael Kors collection with baroque prints and Medusa hardware on accessories for almost 10 years now...
The brand image is tarnished and there's no way to recover from that: if you want quiet luxury you don't go for Versace (and obviously you were not supposed to go for that even when the brand was at its peak), if you want maximalism and over the top there are brands who do that much better than Versace (Balmain and Elie Saab just to name a few), especially considering that most customers who like maximalism are not very fashion savvy and couldn't care less about avant garde fashion proposition Donatella has been trying to push.
No one wants to be associated with a diluted version of the OG Versace: baroque print shirts worn by drug dealers at beach clubs in Miami? Hell naw.
Another topic to discuss is the declining quality: since the acquisition from Capri, the brand joined the endless list of brands who stopped disclosing their manufacturing origins of products, meaning they are outsourcing most of their production. Take a look at their latest bag, which is a blatant copy of the Miu Miu Arcadie, it's 990 Euro. No way a leather bag from a prime brand like Versace, a potential bestseller, would be priced so low. It's clear they are using the same manufacturers and raw materials as Michael Kors but priced 3x. Why would I need to pay 1000 euro for a bag (copied from Miu Miu) made in Cambodia / Bangladesh when I can get a similar model from MK at 1/3 of the price?
Last point: Versace has been a follower for years now in terms of bestsellers items, they keep copying other brands designs and then slapping a Versace logo on them. Their latest bestseller were the triple stacked platforms heels from FW2021.

 

[PDFSD]

Similarly to you I heard that too! I hope its true because Fabio is great!

lol i was saying Dario ...maybe Fabio is taking him there you mean ? ......would not be crazy as he got far at Miu Miu because of Fabio´s approval being in his shadows as a good loyal disciple.

 

[PDFSD]

It's funny how they still talking about brand elevation when Versace has been a Michael Kors collection with baroque prints and Medusa hardware on accessories for almost 10 years now...
The brand image is tarnished and there's no way to recover from that: if you want quiet luxury you don't go for Versace (and obviously you were not supposed to go for that even when the brand was at its peak), if you want maximalism and over the top there are brands who do that much better than Versace (Balmain and Elie Saab just to name a few), especially considering that most customers who like maximalism are not very fashion savvy and couldn't care less about avant garde fashion proposition Donatella has been trying to push.
No one wants to be associated with a diluted version of the OG Versace: baroque print shirts worn by drug dealers at beach clubs in Miami? Hell naw.
Another topic to discuss is the declining quality: since the acquisition from Capri, the brand joined the endless list of brands who stopped disclosing their manufacturing origins of products, meaning they are outsourcing most of their production. Take a look at their latest bag, which is a blatant copy of the Miu Miu Arcadie, it's 990 Euro. No way a leather bag from a prime brand like Versace, a potential bestseller, would be priced so low. It's clear they are using the same manufacturers and raw materials as Michael Kors but priced 3x. Why would I need to pay 1000 euro for a bag (copied from Miu Miu) made in Cambodia / Bangladesh when I can get a similar model from MK at 1/3 of the price?
Last point: Versace has been a follower for years now in terms of bestsellers items, they keep copying other brands designs and then slapping a Versace logo on them. Their latest bestseller were the triple stacked platforms heels from FW2021.
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but to be fair prada and miu miu in store and online have same best products dupes of other brand best sellers from shoes to bags hermes and the row seem to be the trend now at casa miuccia beside the occasional english barbour and co

and its for years like this most big brands look at best sellers of other brands to compete with their versions ysl does also the same the row loafers etc

i think its cheapens the brands but who am i lol i stick with the originals

 

[Thefrenchy]

It'd be such a pity if DV stepped down, she IS the brand for me... Although it seems like they are stuck at the moment.

All this chit-chat about repositioning the brand (and the new hires they did... I read they even hired a few people from Daniel Lee's BV era) just has not translated into anything significant so far.

Versace is one of the few that is very clear in terms of brand identity. It's a sense of powerful sexy maximalism. Unfortunately, that vibe is not trendy nowadays therefore I don't see the struggle ending anytime soon.

The merchandising should be tighter and they should be sharper in their image. If done well, they could be a breathe of fresh air in an ocean of nuances of beige...

 

[GoldenPetals]

Lol @ the people declaring the brand beyond recovery, as if Versace is some kind of political institution. Buyers are fickle and replaceable. As long as there's a next generation of consumers there'll always be another opportunity to re-establish any brand's commercial footing. Especially for a brand like Versace, which has ALWAYS been equally about its branding as much as about its product, if not more.

 

[blueorchid]

@GoldenPetals I'm with you. If Balmain can do it's thing under Olivier, SURELY someone can pull Versace from the depths.

 

[GoldenPetals]

@GoldenPetals I'm with you. If Balmain can do it's thing under Olivier, SURELY someone can pull Versace from the depths.

Girl, if the British monarchy could recover from Charles and Diana, Versace can recover from Michael Kors.

 

[jeanclaude]

What a pity...now that Donatella finally looks human...