The FINANCIAL — After initially saying no, Donatella Versace feels ‘the time is right' for high street collaborations.
For the Italian fashion house's H&M collection, she promises updated iconic moments from Versace's past. Earlier this year, when Swedish retailer H&M announced Italian fashion house Versace as its latest collaborator, the fashion world reacted to the news with jubilation.
Following last year's sell-out collaboration with French brand Lanvin, fans and observers had been playing guessing games as to who the fast-fashion retailer would pick as its next guest designer.
But while the excitement was tumultuous, the news was also met with a sense of incredulity. After all, Donatella Versace, the chief designer of the brand, had always made it known where she stood on lower-priced diffusion lines. When asked at a New York Times-sponsored event in 2008 if she would ever consider doing a collaboration with brands like H&M, she replied: "I respect everyone who does it. But the reason I didn't do it is because I work very hard to put the Versace line in the luxury section. I think to put the Versace line in H&M would confuse the brand."
But times have changed, insists Donatella, who is also the vice-president of the Versace Group.
"It's true that I did say that three years ago, but that was a very different time," she tells tabloid!. "Then, I was focused on consolidating Versace's position as a luxury brand in the 21st century. At that time, a collaboration would have been a distraction. But now things are very different. It's exactly the right moment to open the doors and let a whole new generation into the world of Versace."
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