Fashion

Awards: Donatella Versace q+a
Donatella in her helicopter

Awards: Donatella Versace q+a

Fashion

 

Heading up one of the world’s leading fashion brands is no mean feat. Maintaining a sense of class and consistency, season on season, at the helm of an ever-changing industry is nigh on Herculean but Donatella Versace has more than proved her mettle. So naturally we were keen to find out how she got on being one of our Design Awards judges this year…

In one sentence, what does design mean to you?
For me great design should be beautiful, glamorous, and sensual; a well-designed product should also be well made and work – a pair of shoes is no good if you cannot walk in them, a bag hopeless if it does not hold your things. But most importantly it has to have an element of unique glamour!

How do you see your own work fitting into the wider world of design?
I have an approach, a look, which is the Versace look. Recently Versace has started to apply this to areas beyond clothing and accessories – like sports cars, helicopters and private jets, furniture, and interior design- It’s a philosophy inspired by creative design, that constitutes an Italian luxury lifestyle. In design I am inspired by youthful creativity and it often in turn inspires me within my own clothing design.

Which award did you find the easiest to judge and why?
The award for best City! I love cities and travelling so that category is one of my favourites.

Which award did you find the most difficult to judge and why?
The award for best new hotel, as the real character of a hotel is revealed in the quality of its service as much as in the quality of its design. So though I was asked to judge just in terms of design, I wanted to know what it was actually like to stay in these places.

What award (real or imaginary) would you most like to receive yourself?
Best Italian blonde fashion designer award!

What was your highlight of 2007?
The memorial ballet staged at La Scala by Maurice Béjart to celebrate the life of my late brother, Gianni. It was a truly magical and very moving evening.

What do you hope to achieve in 2008?
I hope to be able to continue to develop as a designer, and to take Versace to a new level of Italian luxury. I also hope to be able to take a holiday.

10 January 2008 | Fashion
Club*