Dario Vitale is the new creative director at Versace, the house announced today.
The news marks a historic transition at the Italian house.
Her title will change to chief brand ambassador.
Photographed by Norman Jean Roy,Vogue, May 2004.
Championing the next generation of designers has always been important to me.
I am thrilled that Dario Vitale will be joining us, and excited to see Versace through new eyes.
It has been the greatest honor of my life to carry on my brother Giannis legacy.
Photo: Stef Mitchell
He was the true genius, but I hope I have some of his spirit and tenacity.
In my new role as chief brand ambassador, I will remain Versaces most passionate supporter.
Versace is in my DNA and always in my heart, said Versace.
Donatella Versace walks the runway at the SS25 show in September 2024.
The House of Versace has a unique heritage that has spanned decades and has shaped the history of fashion.
He departed Pradas sister house this January.
Speculation is currently rife thatCapri Holdings is moving to sell Versace.
Donatella and Gianni Versace at the Vogue Magazine 100th Anniversary in 1993.
Donatella Versace walks the runway at the SS25 show in September 2024.
While Versaces future remains unclear for now, todays news marks a profound break with its past.
Donatella was alongside them from the very start.
Jennifer Lopez at the Grammy Awards in 2000 in the Versace dress that inspired the invention of Google Images.
When Gianni created the diffusion line Versus in 1993, he entrusted Donatella with oversight of its design.
The family, although prone to spirited debate, was also fiercely close-knit.
As Gianni once said: you’ve got the option to trust them.
Liz Hurley in her famous Versace safety-pin dress at the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral with then-boyfriend Hugh Grant in May 1994.
you’ve got the option to fight with them and be back in love.
We can fight at six oclock and have a nice dinner at eight.
Donatella and Gianni Versace at the Vogue Magazine 100th Anniversary in 1993.
Versace had reported revenues of $807 million the previous year.
I felt obligated to assure the creative team around Gianni that we were going to row the boat together.
The next decade was challenging.
As Versace mourned, she also struggled.
She once said of this period: Everything crashed around me.
I was still trying to find my way, but I knew it wasnt the right way…
I had to find who I am without Giannibecause I was his shadow, you know?
Jennifer Lopez at the Grammy Awards in 2000 in the Versace dress that inspired the invention of Google Images.
In 2014, the family sold 20 percent of the company to Blackstone for 210 million.
But also, Versace needs to mean change.
And it needs to be an opportunity for others to express themselves.
As she once said: I want to design clothes that say this is a womans clothes.
Women are strong, and sexiness does not have to go against power.
I can be more powerful than you as a woman and keep what I like.
I dont have to change myself to reach you, to talk to you, or to be relevant.
That is what Im saying.
As well as consistently delivering some of thebestone-liners in the business, Versace also commands great friendship and loyalty.
He has always protected and looked after me and I love that about him.
Speaking inVogues latestcoverstory, Gigi Hadid cites Donatella as one of her earliest champions.
Jennifer Lopez has spoken of sharing with Donatella: a natural organic relationship that wasnt forced.
It is a friendship that goes back many years.
I know that everything she does has family at the core of it.
Vitales ascension to the top creative job at Versace is exciting.
Yet the fact that it is Donatella Versace who is passing him the torch makes the moment bittersweet.
There are very few characters in fashion to whom the word icon can be justly applied.
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