Donatella Versace Covers Vogue Italia March 2022 by Mert & Marcus

Donatella Versace in Vogue Italia

Donatella Versace covers the March 2022 issue of Vogue Italia.

Donatella has come light-years since the murder of her brother, shot on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion in July, 2997. Overnight, the sister of Versace was forced to take over creative direction of the Versace vision of female empowerment.

And while Donatella Versace has experienced a major metamorphosis since taking the reins of Versace, she shares with writer Giuliana Matarrese her vulnerability: "Interviews always make me a little nervous: among other things, I keep asking myself why you chose me for this cover, one day you will explain it to me".

Versace’s north star vision — pulsating with Italian blood — is lensed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, and styled by Jacob K in Atsuko Kudo; Balenciaga; Christopher Kane — who designed Versus from 2009 t0 2012, covering a period of six seasons; Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello; Versace and more.

No More Shadow

Gianni Versace taught women not to be afraid of their sexuality, that it was a positive aspect of their DNA and identity. It’s a mantle that Donna Versace also wears. It’s important also to understand that Donatella finally feels free of Gianni’s death and his dominance over her life.

“My brother’s death was so brutal that I spent years in shock,” she explains, saying that she was Gianni’s shadow. “ I was insecure, I felt the eyes of the world on me, I felt in the air of distrust: I was there, to be the creative director, certainly not because someone had promoted me, but because I had to replace him.”

Indeed, many people weren’t kind of Donatella in the beginning, and she agrees that some of her early designs are ones she would rather forget.

Businessmen Treated Donatella Like the Fool After Gianni’s Death

Asked if she has felt hindered in the workplace as a woman, Versace speaks with a defiant attitude. “Not even once,” is her reply — but it’s not as if men didn’t try to dominate her. The men always knew better, Donatella explains: "You are a woman, take care of making your dresses then we decide if they are good or not". This attitude was said by men with ties and gray suits, graduates in Economics, who thought they knew what would work for Versace, without ever leaving home .

Simply stated, Donatella Versace was the dressmaker. Men in suits had the brains for business.

Furthermore. after reflecting that her brother consulted with her about everything, that she couldn’t be as incompetent as the men connected to the Versace business wanted her to believe she was.

Donatella Versace on Women’s Greater Emotional Intelligence

On the subject of gender relations today, Donatella Versace says there remains much to do. But she is quick to cite the areas in which she believes that women are superior to men.

We have greater emotional intelligence and a managerial ability to make you feel part of a company, of a path, that men do not have (in Versace, more than 60% of employees are women, and 48% of them cover executive positions, ed). After the feminist movements of the 70s we lived through bad years: it seemed chic to disappear, to stand a step back, to dress in these squared men's suits, with low heels, as if to want to erase your body, because we wanted to be "taken seriously". Less is less, and looks like less: when you dress like this, fashion, for me, is forcing you to feel "less". While for me fashion is color, happiness, and clothes must give you courage. Make you feel "more". Because we women, "more", we already are.

For more Donatella Versace, read the entire interview at Vogue Italia.