Donatella Versace - Designer, Creative Director of Versace

[Scotty]

Imagine if they hired Peter Dundas.

If he can give us Ungaro - bring it!

 

[proseccotabis]

Starting from Spring Summer 2016, Versace styling has always been too quirky / pretentiously avant garde / wannabe Prada + Miu Miu, a mess. Bottom was reached with the Spring Summer 2019 show with leather evening minidresses paired with chunky sneakers, mixed tacky clashing flower prints and juvenile looking charms dandling from bags.

Let's not forget the horrific materials that look cheap af

 

[proseccotabis]

I feel it would be different. Versace has such a rich archive spanning decades with so many codes and iconography that one can really play with. Donatella herself contributed so much to the brand on top of the strong base Gianni started. Tom Ford is a little harder to work with, in my opinion, as it's more of a feeling that not many can tap into than something tangible like with the storied houses.

Such a good point. What worries me is that Donatella exits and some Philip Plein - esque designer comes and makes everything worse than it was lol

 

[brandon J pierre]

BREAKING NEWS: FASHION DESIGN HOUSE VERSACE TO BE DESIGNED BY NEW CREATIVE DIRECTOR DONATELLA VERSACE

 

[blueorchid]

This conversation should be moved back to Blazy's thread.

 

[brandon J pierre]

Such a good point. What worries me is that Donatella exits and some Philip Plein - esque designer comes and makes everything worse than it was lol

A new creative director for them is very dangerous at this time because they need to bring in cash lots of it it's too messy of a time right now unless she's really sick of it which I don't think she is. she loves this she's famous the best thing for them to do will be go back to what made Versace great to compete with quiet luxury which was his beautiful tailored sexy suits and great day i.e. club wear. This is a house that's still makes most of its money off of clothing which is great.

 

[Lola701]

A new creative director for them is very dangerous at this time because they need to bring in cash lots of it it's too messy of a time right now unless she's really sick of it which I don't think she is. she loves this she's famous the best thing for them to do will be go back to what made Versace great to compete with quiet luxury which was his beautiful tailored sexy suits and great day i.e. club wear. This is a house that's still makes most of its money off of clothing which is great.

To be fair, Versace became profitable from 2018. So the idea of a « great Versace » doesn’t really mean anything as the great collections that people loved were probably successful but the brand was mismanaged and a mess in terms of structure (remember the number of diffusion lines they had as licences).
Versace has been a financial mess since Gianni died. Donatella has always maintained the prestige and visibility of the brand but it’s not easy.
The problem maybe is that she can’t allow herself to be consistent from season to season. Except for the silk printed shirts and maybe LBDs, there aren’t a lot of products that are iconic and that people may go buy from season to season.

So Versace has HITS but it doesn’t « last » long enough.

The LA show in terms of merchandising offered a lot of possibilities but I think people are still afraid of the name Versace maybe.

 

[bc collector]

Oh Donatella...you and your new face, love you dearly but it's about time to step back. For real.
Lack of successful accessories apart, for me the real problem with Versace was that once Gianni died, the brand stopped being part of the fashion conversation.
Still very talked about, but for the wrong reasons. Mainly the fact that the public persona of Donatella completely stole the scene and the clothes, little by little, inexorably, meant less and less. Everybody in their heart knew that the task of taking over Gianni would have been taxing even for a more robust creative profile, let alone someone with her emotional baggage and health issues. These...28 years (can't believe it) of Donatella at the helm, in retrospect all blend into a single unending riff on the same three or four looks/sihouettes. But who could have stopped her and told her to make space for someone else? Nobody. Which strikes me as ironic, since Donatella has proved with the Versus residencies to have a real eye for talent and, pretty much alone in a country of old designers who blabber incessantly about helping the new generation but do nothing about it, moved from talk to action and invested her money into it (in comparison, D&G and Armani lending their show spaces for new designers frankly sounds, and is, pathetic).
There was a crack of light during the talks with Tisci but, regardless of where the blame sits for the failed negotiations, that was it. I hope Donatella will have a say in choosing the person replacing her, whenever that may be. She has proved to be a person of limited capabilities as a designer but much more efficient in spotting talent in other designers.

 

[brandon J pierre]

To be fair, Versace became profitable from 2018. So the idea of a « great Versace » doesn’t really mean anything as the great collections that people loved were probably successful but the brand was mismanaged and a mess in terms of structure (remember the number of diffusion lines they had as licences).
Versace has been a financial mess since Gianni died. Donatella has always maintained the prestige and visibility of the brand but it’s not easy.
The problem maybe is that she can’t allow herself to be consistent from season to season. Except for the silk printed shirts and maybe LBDs, there aren’t a lot of products that are iconic and that people may go buy from season to season.

So Versace has HITS but it doesn’t « last » long enough.

The LA show in terms of merchandising offered a lot of possibilities but I think people are still afraid of the name Versace maybe.

I actually just watched the LA show last night and thinking what happened from there to now it's like a totally different brand that la show was powerful and strong had a lot of great accessories and lots of great clothing that went from the runway to the rack, the last collection was just a complete flop
Versace would benefit completely under lvmh I mean if you really think about it they should be rivaling Chanel and they're not. It is one of my favorite brands I actually have all the books that they created, I just don't have South Beach stories so I'm rooting for them and for her.

 

[carla56]

To be fair, Versace became profitable from 2018. So the idea of a « great Versace » doesn’t really mean anything as the great collections that people loved were probably successful but the brand was mismanaged and a mess in terms of structure (remember the number of diffusion lines they had as licences).
Versace has been a financial mess since Gianni died. Donatella has always maintained the prestige and visibility of the brand but it’s not easy.
The problem maybe is that she can’t allow herself to be consistent from season to season. Except for the silk printed shirts and maybe LBDs, there aren’t a lot of products that are iconic and that people may go buy from season to season.

So Versace has HITS but it doesn’t « last » long enough.

The LA show in terms of merchandising offered a lot of possibilities but I think people are still afraid of the name Versace maybe.

what I really find absurd is that in the shop you can't find printed silk shirts, except for the baroque print and very little else, when the old Versace prints in vintage are worth gold... they should make a permanent collection of iconic prints on silk...

 

[jeanclaude]

The 28 years of Donatella´s tenure can be resumed in her biggest (and only) hit:

hearstapps.com
yimg.com

 

[brandon J pierre]

The 28 years of Donatella´s tenure can be resumed in her biggest (and only) hit:

hearstapps.com
yimg.com

Hell no

 

[proseccotabis]

what I really find absurd is that in the shop you can't find printed silk shirts, except for the baroque print and very little else, when the old Versace prints in vintage are worth gold... they should make a permanent collection of iconic prints on silk...

Also the lack of Medusa lately… you’d think they would bet all their money on that but it basically disappeared after 2019 why?:/

 

[FashionPower]

Not Sabrina Carpenter facing the latest Versace eyewear ad...talking about desperation. What's next? The hawk tuah girl for the Spring 2025 ready to wear campaign?

 

[yslforever]

Maybe a return of a commercial CD could help ? Frida Giannini used to know her thing about glamour at Gucci... because Versace is supposed to be glamourous and I just can't see which younger CD can or is interested in it.

 

[Lola701]

I actually just watched the LA show last night and thinking what happened from there to now it's like a totally different brand that la show was powerful and strong had a lot of great accessories and lots of great clothing that went from the runway to the rack, the last collection was just a complete flop
Versace would benefit completely under lvmh I mean if you really think about it they should be rivaling Chanel and they're not. It is one of my favorite brands I actually have all the books that they created, I just don't have South Beach stories so I'm rooting for them and for her.

I really loved the last collection lol.
I’m not the best person to criticize it.
It’s just good clothes I would love to wear. If the question is « would people recognize that it’s Versace? », not really but I think it was good clothes.

Also the lack of Medusa lately… you’d think they would bet all their money on that but it basically disappeared after 2019 why?:/

I don’t think the lack of Medusa is a bad thing. There are still Medusa in the collections and in the accessories but I think there’s a lack of consistency.

The last collection is the perfect example. I think the collection was great, bold and I like the fact that Donatella referenced herself instead of Gianni. But the cast and the styling were not Versace enough.

So you have a perception of a brand trying to figure it out again. It seems like they are trying to attract GenZ.

A brand like Saint Laurent, where they are making less bold choices, have a much more cohesive POV.

And I think the Donatella formula of making collections based on 90’s stuff with a bunch of pieces thrown around making no sense and a stunt casting is not working.

 

[Xone]

Casting is also something to look for on the next show...

 

[Alquimista]

Casting has been problematic for years. Raf Simons type of models walking Versace ugh

We want the hunks, the brazilians back!

 

[Scotty]

And we want all women. I hate when they mix both shows in one. It feels more like a trunk show and ruins the flow.