What would Donatella Versace be doing if she wasn’t leading one of fashion’s most popular houses? “Having a nervous breakdown, probably.” This is to say that fashion is truly Versace’s lifeblood. When her brother, Gianni, started the Versace brand in 1978, Donatella was his muse; the perfume, Blonde, was made in her honor in 1995. After Gianni’s untimely death in 1997, Donatella became the brand’s chief creative force. Since then, the Versace woman has been cut, carved, and crafted precisely in her likeness.
Donatella is blonde, so for Spring 2004’s Atelier Versace show, the models wore waist-length blonde wigs. Donatella loves heels, so for Spring 2014, platforms and block heels were exaggerated to nearly eight inches. Donatella often wears black, so when Stephanie Seymour returned to the Versace runway after a near-30-year absence, she did it in a cutaway black number.
If this seems like an exclusionary vision, it’s a testament to Donatella’s modernity that Versace has become the de facto wardrobe for women at the top of their game. The proof: Both Michelle Obama and Kim Kardashian West have worn dresses made from Donatella’s golden chain mail. Serena Williams is a longtime fan, choosing a sun yellow gown for her duties as this year’s Met Gala cohost. Ditto Jennifer Lopez, whose love affair with La Vida Versace began when she sported one of Donatella’s barely there dresses to the Grammys in 2000. The list of Donatella acolytes goes on and on, a veritable A-team of women who have carved their own paths: Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell—but it’s not only women. In 1995, Prince recorded an exclusive album for Versace, which will be reissued this year.
Perhaps it will serve as walk-out music for Donatella Versace when she takes the stage at Vogue’s third annual Forces of Fashion conference this October? Until then, take a look back at Donatella’s best looks as captured by Vogue.
Donatella Versace is a speaker at Vogue’s 2019 Forces of Fashion conference, October 10 and 11 in New York City; learn more and buy tickets here.
Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, January 19981/9
Photographed by Irving Penn, Vogue, April 20002/9“Donatella Versace does what she does best: devastatingly sexy dresses that aren’t easily forgotten.” Maggie Rizer wears a sheer Atelier Versace gown embroidered with lilac georgette, silver sequins, and crystals.
Photographed by Steven Klein, Vogue, June 20023/9Christina Ricci in Versace’s printed halter bikini.
Photographed by Steven Meisel, Vogue, August 20034/9Carolyn Murphy wears a corseted oxblood iridescent chiffon dress by Versace.
Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, September 20035/9Nicole Kidman in an Atelier Versace mermaid gown with Swarovski crystals and invisible hand-painted silk tulle.
Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, December 20036/9Natalia Vodianova as Alice, in an Atelier Versace layered silk-tulle and chiffon-organza dress lined in lace, with Donatella Versace and Rupert Everett, both in Versace.
Photographed by Steven Klein, Vogue, November 20067/9Cate Blanchett in an Atelier Versace embroidered dress.
Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, July 20098/9“Versace’s backless dresses are a triumph of modern taste and classic construction,” wrote Plum Sykes in Vogue. “I would honestly walk into a room backward if I were wearing one.” Here, Karlie Kloss in a beaded iteration.
Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, December 20169/9Michelle Obama in Atelier Versace.
