Donatella Versace has officially stepped down as the creative director of Versace, after nearly 30 years and countless iconic fashion moments.
The 69-year-old took over at the head of the brand following the death of her brother, Gianni Versace in 1997 – which was explored in an award-winning Ryan Murphy series – and has won acclaim for many of her designs.
Who could forget the plunging green dress that Jennifer Lopez wore to the Grammys in 2000, which quite literally led to Google Images being created?
Taking to Instagram earlier today, she announced that she would be moving into a new role of chief brand ambassador, while former Miu Miu design director Dario Vitale was introduced as the chief creative officer.
‘Championing the next generation of designers has always been important to me,’ she wrote on the official Versace page. ‘I am thrilled that Dario Vitale will be joining us, and excited to see Versace through new eyes.
‘I want to thank my incredible design team and all the employees at Versace that I have had the privilege of working with for over three decades.
‘It has been the greatest honor of my life to carry on my brother Gianni’s legacy. 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 Versace’s most passionate supporter. Versace is in my DNA and always in my heart.’
‘I am truly honored to join Versace as the Chief Creative Officer and to be a part of this special and powerful fashion luxury House created by Gianni and Donatella,’ Dario shared in a statement.
‘The House of Versace has a unique heritage that has spanned decades and has shaped the history of fashion. I want to express my sincere thank you to Donatella for her trust in me, and for her tireless dedication to the extraordinary brand that Versace is today.
‘It is a privilege to contribute to the future growth of Versace and its global impact through my vision, expertise and dedication.’
Gianni founded Versace in 1978 with his brother, Santo, becoming CEO while Donatella worked on Atelier Versace and Versus – it was during this time that she introduced the infamous safety pin dress, which Elizabeth Hurley rocked at the Four Weddings and a Funeral premiere in 1994.
She stepped in to lead design after her brother’s death in the late 90s, and has been responsible for some of the most talked about fashion moments ever since.
The world almost stopped turning in February 2000, when J Lo stepped foot on the red carpet at the Grammys, dressed in a flowing palm leaf-printed green gown and very little else.
Jenny from the Block paired the sheer, long-sleeved patterned outfit with strappy embellished silver sandals and diamond earrings – the look turned so many heads that it inspired Google bosses to create Google Images, to deal with the surge in searches.
The Love Don’t Cost A Thing singer has paid tribute to the dress many times over the years, and wore a reimagined dress on a runway in 2019.
‘Probably my biggest fashion moment ever was wearing the green Versace jungle print dress,’ she previously said. ‘I was nominated for a Grammy that night and I was filming The Wedding Planner at the time with Matthew McConaughey.
‘I was out in the middle of nowhere where we did the horseback riding scene and my stylist comes in and she’s like, “the Grammys are tomorrow”.
‘On the day of the Grammys I’m getting ready, I’m doing hair and make-up. Usually if you come to a fitting of mine, there’s tons of dresses. There’s always so many choices.
‘But this day, we really had a choice between two dresses. One was kind of like a white dress, and the other was the Versace jungle-print dress…’
And the rest was history…
Donatella proved herself as the queen of red carpet fashion once again with another eye-catching look in 2012, when Angelina Jolie turned up to the Oscars in a strapless black dress.
The Hollywood icon arrived at the bash on the arm of then-partner Brad Pitt, but it was her solo session in front of photographers that got us all talking.
She famously posed with her hand on one hip while also sticking out a leg out of the very revealing slit, in a move that instantly went viral.
‘There’s a whole longer story behind that,’ Angie told Extra in 2019. ‘I had a more complicated dress and I wore the more comfortable dress, which was that one, and I think I was just so comfortable that.
‘I think when you feel comfortable, when you feel yourself – which is very much the theme of the film, and we know this in life – you embrace it.
‘And sometimes, maybe it appears to be a thing, I don’t know.’
‘The leg went viral, the image went everywhere,’ Donatella said in 2023. ‘Sometimes you don’t know which dress is the best, but when you see someone wearing the dress it can become fantastic.’
Lady Gaga trusted Versace to help her provided another memorable moment when she arrived at the American Music Awards on the back of a giant, artificial horse.
In a moment inspired by Bianca Jagger once arriving at Studio 54 atop a white horse, the Shallow singer opted for an ethereal lavender gown as she was carried onto the red carpet in 2013.
According to Vogue, Gaga’s long blonde hair was in tribute to Donatella, who dressed her for the ceremony.
It’s fair to say that Donatella’s designs always get the world talking and Liz, who slayed in the aforementioned safety pin dress, previously confessed that she was ‘so unprepared’ for the attention that her risqué look received.
The actress joined her now-ex Hugh Grant at the Four Weddings premiere, dressed in a plunging black gown with gold Versace-branded safety pin embellishments, and instantly stole the show.
‘I was so unprepared for what happened that night. I urgently needed to find a dress to wear for Hugh’s premiere, and in those days I had no idea about fashion,’ she told Harper’s Bazaar of how Donatella’s dress saved the day.
‘I remember going to an office where they literally fished a dress out of a white plastic bag. I took it home and did my own hair and makeup, fighting Hugh for the mirror, which wasn’t even full-length, in our tiny one-bedroom flat.’
Reflecting on the images in 2019 – while modelling a reimagined version – she shared that the original still fit, but ‘wouldn’t be appropriate’ to wear today.
Despite this, the safety pin dress has been recreated countless times since Liz’s first outing, with Dua Lipa appearing in something similar to the Grammy’s and Anne Hathaway opting for a pinned look at the Met Gala in 2023.
Donatella previously shed light on some of her jaw-dropping designs, insisting that she wanted women to feel their strength, sexiness and power in her dresses.
‘I want to design clothes that say “this is a woman’s clothes”,’ she declared. ‘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 don’t have to change myself to reach you, to talk to you, or to be relevant. That is what I’m saying.’
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