I don't understand why she has so much fans ... and factually she has not, otherwise Versace would have performed better.
I think you bring up a very interesting point that I personally have not thought about before, it’s food for thought.
an example pops up in my head-Nadège Vanhée-Cybulski of Hermes, who doesn’t have a cult following per se and yet as we know, the sales are astronomical. Only fashion insiders might have an interest in her persona, otherwise everyone wants a Birkin or some pieces from rtw. You get my point.
Donatella is a great supporter of LGBTQ community, she is friends with everyone who we deem an icon in the pop culture - from Naomi to Lady Gaga to Dula Peepa, and even visually speaking Donatella doesn’t and never did look like the majority of creative directors nowadays - Phoebe, Miuccia, Meiers etc etc are well combed and don’t steal attention with their looks per se, yet Donatella is over the top, typical Italian bella Donna.
She carved a universe for herself and kudos to her for that! She is MOTHER!!
Having said all of the above I truly believe that having a huge fan base and admiration of many is not directly related to sales ( unfortunately!).