The Haute Couture Queen Donatella Versace

She’s an illustrious figure in the world of fashion, a smoky-eyed siren whose life in the industry to date has combined high classicism with modernity, sex, excess and tragedy. Even as her eponymous brand enters a brave new era, Donatella Versace stays true to herself and remains as timeless as one of her company’s designer creations.

- Peter Wallace And Paolo Bianch

An unmistakable aura surrounds Donatella Versace. Perhaps it stems from her chosen industry — fashionistas are often considered steely, aloof and intimidating — or from her standing as a woman at the head of a billion-dollar business. Perhaps it comes from her instantly recognizable look; with her long, bleached-blond tresses and charcoal edged eyes, she is distinctive, even when standing among the world’s most renowned models. She has a natural exoticism, with her rolling vocal cadence that’s as rich as the taut black leather with which her brand staked claim to the fashion world’s heart.

Her image is a product of her family name — Versace, a whispered sibilance — and her name is a product of her image. Neither has meaning without the other. For although her company was brought to life by the innovation of her late brother, Gianni, it is Donatella who has carried the burden of the business on her impeccably tailored shoulders. Few brands can claim to have survived and thrived in the manner that Versace has.

Various former members of the company’s senior management can attest to Donatella’s iron will, but — incredible as it may seem — behind her self-described “facade” of bleached hair and makeup is a tendency toward self-criticism.

“Being strong doesn’t mean being invulnerable,” she explains, her heavily accented words filling the air like a heady perfume. (Versace has claimed to wear four combined scents at any one time.) “Even a strong woman has her weaknesses — but that doesn’t make her weak, it makes her human. Being a strong woman for me means to play the game following the rules, pushing the limits and breaking down barriers, overcoming weaknesses and fighting for what you believe in.”