When Gianni was murdered on the steps of his Miami Beach house in July 1997, aged 50, he was in his prime of invention and renown. Versace had reported revenues of $807 million (AED 2.96 billion approximately) the previous year. He left his niece, Allegra Versace Beck, Donatella’s then 11-year-old daughter, all of his 50 per cent stake in the company. Santo held 30 per cent, and Donatella, who stepped up to lead design, held 20 per cent. Donatella later recalled: “The king was dead, but we had to give hope to the people around him and to the company. 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. Amidst occasional bright spots — such as Jennifer Lopez’s memorable 2000 outing in the Versace dress that inspired the invention of Google Images — the business reckoned with debts and faltering revenues, while Donatella eventually went into rehab to overcome addiction. She once said of this period: “Everything crashed around me. Nothing was right. I was still trying to find my way, but I knew it wasn’t the right way… I had to find who I am without Gianni — because I was his shadow, you know?”
From around the turn of the 2010s, Versace began to regain its vigour, with a revitalised Donatella emerging as a cultural icon, directing Versace to cease the use of fur, and settling with knowing humour into character as a dazzlingly blonde, larger-than-life fashion superstar. Once, when asked about her beauty regime, she replied: “I sleep every night in the deep freezer.”
In 2014, the family sold 20 per cent of the company to Blackstone for €210 million (AED 836.85 million approximately). By 2017, the first rumours emerged that the entire concern might be up for sale (although Gianni and Santo had once discussed a merger with Gucci shortly before Gianni’s death). Asked about the prospect of another designer leading…
