Donatella Versace

By Ines Mendoza

When it comes to overblown, over hyped and outlandish images, not to mention nightmarish visions of future plastic surgery victims, one can't go past the biggest name in fashion: that of Donatella Versace.

Born on May the 2nd, 1955 (although it may be argued she was present during the cretaceous period) and brought up in Calabria, Italy, by their father - by trade a personal financier to the Italian aristocracy - and dressmaker mother, Donatella Versace was destined for importance and pomp from a very early age with such high brow influences.

Ten years Gianni's junior, Donatella Versace always played muse to her fashion-mad brother. As she told Vogue in October 1998, by the time she was 11-years-old, she was already dyeing her hair blonde ("Just the front bits - the streaks got bigger and bigger") and wearing the clothes he designed especially for her, which would be worth a pretty today, make no mistake.

When Gianni relocated to Florence in the mid-seventies to embark on a career in knitwear design, Donatella found herself plunged head first into the fast paced fashion world alongside him. While a keen student of Italian literature in her university days, she would often visit him in his studio during the weekends, no doubt spending hours debating the usefulness of abutted seams in contemporary design, whether or not herringbone fabric is still hip, and if kickpleats maketh the skirt. Donatella and her brother shared a flat together in Milan not long after leaving University, so they spent much time together pondering ready-to-wear trends and new styles. Originally planning a career in PR, brother Gianni soon discovered that he valued his sister Donatella more as a muse and critic when he founded his own company in 1978, after which his most notable move was launching a perfume dedicated to her, Blonde, in the 1980s.

However, like the lives of many socialite legends, tragedy struck and changed the course of Donatella's destiny forever. On July 15, 1997, outside of the re-constructed Versace Mansion, also known as Casa Casaurina, in Miami, Florida, Gianni Versace was shot to death by Andrew Cunanan, a suspected serial-killer who committed suicide before apprehension was possible.

Donatella and other family patriarchs temporarily moved the family to a secluded, private resort in the Caribbean. Consequently, the Spring-Summer 1998 Collection was cancelled as were the indirect operations of the company. The official funeral of Gianni Versace was held at the Roman Catholic Milan Cathedral in Milan, Italy, where over 2,000 mourners attended a traditional service, including the Princess of Wales, Diana, Sir Elton John, Naomi Campbell, Giorgio Armani, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Sting, Luciano Pavarotti, Carla Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld and the who's who of fashion designers. Elton John and Sting sang a setting of Psalm 23, "The Lord is My Shepherd", broadcast to millions of viewers worldwide.

Donatella finally took the reins of the Versace design house merely three months after his death, miraculously pulling together a ready-to-wear collection which Vogue later described as "more than credible". She followed that with her solo debut for the mainline collection in the spring of 1998. In fact, she is accredited as the first designer to use notable celebrities to broadcast her clothing into the world on the catwalk and other public mediums such as advertisements, instead of using unknown models. Donatella soon proved to be the public relations giant within the Versace label and spread its name throughout Europe and most of the United States, choosing to place some of her good friends, such as Madonna and Demi Moore, in high esteem in the Versace advertising sector, making them and other A-list celebrities the persona and image of Versace.

Some readers may remember the impressive $40 million Chanel perfume television advertisement starring Nicole Kidman, which is believed to be a direct response to Versace's increasing use of highly recognisable celebrities, rather than runway models that only people who read fashion mags and website know about.

The varied endeavours of the company have created a grand, luxurious Palazzo Versace Resort on the Gold Coast, Australia. Another growing symbol of the Versace style, the World's Tallest Hotel, the Burj al-Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) boasts a broad collection of Versace furniture and beddings in its expensive and lavish 6-star rooms. But how can Donatella afford all this? It seems inheriting an empire isn't all it takes these days. Making it work in the big business realm of the lucrative fashion industry takes good business skills, which Donatella seems to have in spades. Her current title is Vice-President of the Versace Group and Chief Designer of the fashion line, which in itself is quite something. But get this - she owns a total of 20% - or one fifth - of the entire stock market assets of the Versace company. Only her brother is in a more prominent business position, Santo Versace, who owns 35%. A family business through and through.

Donatella is currently married to former male model Paul Beck with whom she has a son, Daniel, and a daughter, Allegra (who may or may not have been bred using the DNA of a human foetus and some form of stick insect), both of whom she sent to English schools in Milan. After her uncle's death, it was Donatella's daughter, Allegra, then aged 11, who inherited the largest part of his fortune, including a whopping 45% share (worth about $800 million) in the Versace family business, meaning she has incredible power for someone barely out of her teens, having to make decisions about the company's finances and business endeavours. The rampant nepotism doesn't stop there either. Donatella's husband Beck is in charge of Versace's advertising, suggesting the whole business really is "All in the Family".

However, of late Donatella seems to be more famous for being Donatella rather than for her impressive achievements in the business world. She is regularly impersonated by Maya Rudolph on the American comedy skit show Saturday Night Live (mostly as an insane, orange, eccentric tyrant). She's a strange looking creature at the best of times, and has made the odd cameo performances in films including Zoolander, and the more recent hit The Devil Wears Prada, in which the mention of "Donatella" is used sporadically.

Keep an eye on this one, as she may be the catalyst that either makes of breaks the great fashion house that is Versace.