The Veritable Mrs Versace

The iconic Donatella Versace, on her fashion memories, inspiration and evolution

- Zoha Castelino

ELLE: When you look back at your journey, what do you feel about it? What would you call as your milestones and challenges? How has Donatella Versace evolved and changed?

Donatella Versace (DV): Times have certainly changed and the road has not always been downhill. It was challenging to remain relevant, it’s hard to keep up with the constant changes that technologies make us face every day. We have to be flexible and open-minded in order to understand how the public and the customers are evolving. Heritage is important but what’s even more so is to not remain anchored to the past. You always have to look ahead and be yourself, be creative. For many years I have lived under the pressure of expectations, judgments, wrong advice. Now after so long, I think I have found my own voice and that the brand is where I want it to be.

ELLE: How would you define Versace’s growth? And what would you say about the fashion industry–how has that changed in your opinion?

DV: Today, Versace is part of a cultural conversation that goes beyond fashion itself. I think that this means that our work has inspired people and supported communities. We have dared, broken the rules, and yet remained relevant. Fashion as we knew it 20 years ago has evolved into something completely new… at that time internet did not exist, pre-collections did not exist, there were two fashion shows a year and that was your collection, that was your moment. Today the dynamics of the fashion industry have changed, everything is so immediate and fast.

ELLE: What is your first fashion memory?