....Jeffrey Kalinsky, owner of Jeffrey stores, said, “If Donatella felt she needed to go somewhere to get help for a problem, that’s great for business and that’s great for Donatella. That’s a decision of strength and courage. The greatest thing about getting help is knowing you need to.”
He also noted that many accomplished people have sought treatment.
“She certainly isn’t the first person in the fashion industry or in any industry — doctors, lawyers, movie stars — who has needed some help,” Kalinsky said. “Certainly, there are tons of successful people who have been through similar things.”
Foxy Brown, who launches a signature fur collection this fall, wished Versace “a speedy recovery” and noted how the pressures of this industry have made several falter. She pointed to Mary-Kate Olsen and her “all-time favorite” Courtney Love as examples of celebrities who have sought treatment in recent months. But Brown doesn’t expect Versace’s entering rehab to have much bearing on business and said it might even help it.
“It makes her more human in a sick way [in consumers’ eyes],” Brown said. “Before if she was ever seen as untouchable, now people will see she suffers like the rest of us.”
Joan Kaner, senior vice president and fashion director for Neiman Marcus, said the shakeout remains to be seen, but presumed the upcoming collection has been put to bed. She did speculate about how much has been done for production of the runway show and other necessities.
Kenneth A. Wasik, director of the Consumer Products Group of Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin, said potential investors will likely be focusing more on the product than the personalities. “It’s a hiccup, but overall the value is still there. People buying don’t know her other than what they read in the paper,” he said, adding that in the end, he thinks the Versace name will overcome any bad press. “Luxury designer goods are in such high demand, that probably eclipses any damage done by her.”
The impact would be significantly greater if Donatella were at the helm of a fashion house with a more mainstream style sensibility, marketing sources said.
“I don’t think it will make a bit of difference — the [Versace] brand is much bigger than Donatella Versace,” said Drew Neisser, president and chief executive officer of Renegade Marketing Group. “The brand is not built on Middle American values. This isn’t Disney or a brand that built itself on some kind of social consciousness,” he added. “[Consumers will] forgive her. They’ll probably celebrate her renewal.”
In addition, brand image guru Marc Gobe observed it would be surprising — and ironic — if a leading-edge fashion label such as Versace saw its brand equity diminish because of Donatella’s rehab, considering so much apparel has been marketed via models portraying a heroin chic.
Versace was among a trio of European designer labels that entered women’s top 10 favorite apparel brands in the Brand Keys third annual fashion index this June. Versace ranked fifth, selected by 16 percent of women, as did Chanel and Louis Vuitton.
Brand Keys president Robert Passikoff said Versace’s recovery period “degrades only a small degree of a brand’s strength. People expect that from designers and rock stars. It’s not the same as a senator doing that — not as deleterious in the world of designers and rock stars.”
Not surprisingly, Passikoff projected any impact wielded by Donatella’s presence in rehab on the sale of a minority stake in the house of Versace would be very minor. “People buying into such ventures know what is and is not involved,” he noted.
EVERBODY. even my neighbor just went to rehab
