Donatella Versace at spring/summer 2022 Versace show, featuring a backdrop of the brand’s iconic foulards. Image courtesy of Versace

Identifiable by her first name alone, Donatella Versace is unique among designers. The creative director gives LUX the lowdown on what it’s really like being a woman at the top, how she is dipping into the metaverse and why the future of her super-sexy Italian fashion house is all about breaking new ground – and those safety pins. Interview by Fara Bashorun

LUX: How important was it for you to make your own mark on Versace, considering the lack of women designers at the top of the fashion industry?
Donatella Versace: It’s crucial, and I feel responsible – but not just because I am a woman. But because I care. I care that Versace is successful, that my teams are happy. At the beginning it was harder. No one really believed in me. They have always seen me behind the scenes and I was happy to keep doing what I was doing. But then, you know, I didn’t really have a choice – and to give up has never been an option. Because I was a woman – and my surname didn’t matter – I had to work harder than anyone to prove that I was capable. That’s why I think that the change must start from us.

In fact, today, within Versace, women represent 64 per cent of the employees; and 48 per cent of those are executives. Regardless of all the progress that’s been made, women still have to prove themselves more than men have to; women have to fight harder to have their voices heard. I think there is still a problem of credibility when it comes to women in positions of authority: it is still hard for them to have their opinions and actions validated by others. I say this from my own experience. As said, I was the only woman at the helm of the company. It took me a long time to really be heard, trusted and recognised as being capable within my own company.

Image Courtesy of Versace

LUX: “If you want to be comfortable, stay at home in your pyjamas.” You made this statement in 2011: do you still stand by it, despite the shift towards casual luxury?
DV: I think that the most important thing is to be, and express, yourself by wearing whatever you want to. In particular, nowadays, after two years of the pandemic, with social distancing and working from home, the way we dress has changed a lot. And fashion can only adapt to this change. Think of street style and how impactful that was on fashion.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Glamour, like style, just has different characteristics according to the times. For example, I have been wearing heels every day to go to the office since the day the total lockdown in Italy was lifted. It feels good. High heels are the quintessential symbol of femininity, a tool for women to feel stronger. The minute we wear them we walk in a different manner, we feel taller, we feel different, we can be whoever we want to be. That is the meaning of fashion anyway. It’s not just about covering ourselves in something warm, but wearing an armour that allows us to express ourselves without fear.

Image courtesy of Versace

LUX: The spring/summer 2022 collection is a confluence of legacy and futurity – iconic foulards, the return of those safety pins… Does this signal a new vision for the brand?
DV: The main inspiration behind the spring/ summer 2022 collection is the iconic Versace silk foulard. It is a fundamental component of Versace’s heritage and DNA. The foulard has been with us since the very beginning of the brand, but for SS22 it turns everything on its head – it is no longer fluid or dreamy, the scarf is provocative, sexy, wound tight for both men and women.

I’ve noticed that there is a fascination for the fashion of the past in the younger generations. They are discovering older treasures, since for them a lot of the fashion from the 1980s and ’90s is new. That’s why I keep bringing the codes of Versace into the world of today, remaining authentic to what they are, but never in an obvious way. There is a story to tell, and I see that people are interested in that story. Versace is always true to its DNA, but at the same time not a slave to it. It keeps on changing and evolving, because I listen to what people want and desire.

LUX: How have you adjusted to working under the ownership of Capri Holdings? Do you still feel that you are in charge?
DV: What has changed is the fact that, being part of a group with larger resources, Versace can tap into them and invest in technology, manufacturing, a larger base of employees. We’re opening new stores. Ultimately, Versace is growing to the next level. Thanks to Capri, I see big opportunities in accessories for sure, but every part of the business is growing.

Image courtesy of Versace

LUX: How important are brand collaborations, such as Fendace (Fendi x Versace)?
DV: As a designer, it gave me the opportunity to use my creativity on something new. It was also a way to create unity, and a sense that fashion houses can work together to offer people something unexpected. It doesn’t matter how designers decide to achieve this goal, but that the creative conversation goes above and beyond one’s own four walls, so to speak. There have been a lot of collaborations, but never a complete swap of designers.

Read more: Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation: Bridging Global South And North

I became the designer of Fendi and they [creative leads Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini-Fendi] became the designers of Versace. I did Fendi how I see Fendi. We saw it like a game, and that allowed us to be free to express ourselves. It’s never happened before. I’d like to underline that a collaboration is one thing, but swapping designers is a totally different thing. They trusted me enough to give Fendi to me and to translate it into my vision. I trusted them enough to hand over Versace.

The new Versace women’s SS22 campaign, featuring Donatella flanked by supermodel sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid

LUX: You once described London as being the heart of new design, rather than Paris or Milan. Why do you think that is?
DV: Because of its energy, its ability to reinvent itself and to be unconventional! It is always new, always fresh. London is one of my favourite cities in the world!

LUX: As fashion brands begin to explore the metaverse, what’s Versace’s take on it? How important is it to you?
DV: I think the metaverse must be explored. My team and I are still learning about this universal virtual world, but I’m happy to embrace new ideas if they fit Versace. I’m fascinated by technology and I love to get to know all the newest and coolest experiences. For example, in 2020, we joined ComplexLand, a digital interactive experience, a first-of-its-kind immersive virtual destination featuring fashion, art, musical performances and cultural conversations. It was my first time as a virtual identity and I found it super modern, and absolutely in line with the brand’s aesthetic and current approach. It was fun to develop my virtual alter ego!

This article appears in the Summer 2022 issue of LUX

A look from Area’s AW16 collection, incorporating an official collaboration with Swarovski. © Swarovski Corporate Archive

Austrian crystal-maker Swarovski celebrates its 125th anniversary this year with a new creative director in charge. Operating in sectors from infrastructure to telescopes, it is most famous for its crystal figures and collaborations with the entertainment and fashion industries. Ahead of a landmark book being published about the company, Harriet Quick explores a family-owned firm getting ready for the next 125 years

For a brand bringing sparkle to the world’s performance stage and symbolising the dazzle of fashion to be celebrating its 125th anniversary is some achievement in itself, given the changes in the world of entertainment and style since 1895. To be doing so as a family-owned company, run in part by descendants of the original founder, is even more so. But for Swarovski, provider of crystals and sparkle around the world, there is yet another dazzling fact: the company has done so not based on the rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré or Milan’s Golden Triangle, but from a small village in the Austrian Alps.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

The journey has been epic. Today, the company is managed by the fifth generation of its family members. This year, marking its 125th anniversary, has witnessed big changes. On the visual front, Italian-born fashion director and consultant, Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert has joined the company as worldwide creative director. The stores, a feature of cities and airports around the world, are scheduled for a sweeping revamp.

The Crystal Dome at Swarovski Crystal Worlds in Wattens, Austria. © Swarovski Corporate Archive

The brand’s history is as varied as the topography of the Austrian Tyrol where Daniel Swarovski set up his manufacturing plant in the town of Wattens to benefit from the abundant water source that powered the hydroelectric cutting machines. The mountains and valleys of the region are symbolic of the struggles and triumphs of a business that has been driven by the continuous merging of technology, nature and innovative design. There is a generous sprinkling of magic, too. It is embedded in the multifaceted crystals that never fail to arouse awe and around which there has been ample myth-making.

Daniel Swarovski with his family, c. 1890. © Swarovski Corporate Archive

Before the global pandemic, Swarovski’s annual turnover was recorded at 2.7 billion euros and that comprises revenues from its high-end fine jewellery creations, the crystal stones deployed by a whole array of creative minds, including costume designers, chandelier makers and architects, and optics. The lion’s share (75 per cent of the revenue) is generated by fashion jewellery, sunglasses, watches, perfume and the much-adored crystal figurines. The quality of the crystals that are prototyped at Manufaktur, the striking in-house laboratory in Wattens designed by architectural firm Snøhetta, is unparalleled.

Read more: How Andermatt Swiss Alps is drawing a new generation of visitors

The company’s extraordinary creative output has also been bolstered by a roster of collaborators from the fields or architecture, design, fashion, film and stage who have continually brought ideas and seemingly impossible challenges to the company, from the mesmerising Aurora Borealis crystal that was developed by Manfred Swarovski for Christian Dior to the spectacular costumes made for performers including Maria Callas’s gowns, Liberace’s capes and Lady Gaga’s bespangled Ralph Lauren gown featuring 50,000 stones and worn at her Las Vegas residency in 2019. People come to Swarovski for the spectacular and the sublime, like scenic designer Derek McLane, who used 45 million Swarovski crystals for the 2018 Oscars ceremony, and who commented, “I always want to go beyond the clichés”.

Swarovski crystals in jewellery featuring in 16 Arlington’s AW20 collection. © Dan and Corina Lecca.

From the fields of design, Daniel Libeskind, Tord Boontje, Jaime Hayon and John Pawson are amongst the greats who have transformed crystal into products, architectural features and lighting. Hayon recently designed a full-scale carousel for the Swarovski Crystal Worlds culture park in Wattens. The monochrome attraction rotates in striking juxtaposition with the lush greenery of the garden and shimmers with 15 million Swarovski crystals across 12 ceiling panels and 16 wall panels illuminated by a warm light. “For me, a carousel can be seen as a moving museum,” explains Hayon.

Swarovski Crystal Worlds, with (top) Crystal Cloud by Andy Cao and Xavier Perrot, and (here) the carousel designed by Jaime Hayon © Swarovski Kristallwelten/Mark Cocksedge

Setting a precedent that would inspire future generations, Daniel Swarovski first made his inroads into the worlds of high fashion in Paris. Equipped with suitcases of stones, the founder would take his goods on the road, visiting couturiers including Charles Frederick Worth, Jeanne Lanvin and Jeanne Paquin, as well as the specialist artisan ateliers that supplied Chanel and Schiaparelli with exceptional embroideries, buttons and jewelled adornments. Relationships were forged that outlived the founder and expanded exponentially during the hey-day of couture in the 1950s, attracting Dior, Balmain and Givenchy. “The samples are often the springboard to the creation itself,” remarked Hubert de Givenchy.

Read more: British artist Hugo Wilson on creating art from chaos

The Swarovski Star by Daniel Libeskind in 2018 for the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, New York. Image by HappyMonday

Swarovski crystal became a desired material in fashion, adding glamour and value to evening gowns, heels, handbags and costume jewels. It has been endlessly interpreted through the changing waves of minimalism, maximalism, sportswear, theatrical and romantic moods and proved itself a classic. At Versace, Donatella has made crystal chain mail a signature, Miuccia Prada has made sparkle an integral part of her chandelier earrings and party dresses, while at Chanel, crystal is woven into the tweeds and classic costume jewellery.

Mary Katrantzou’s SS20 show at the Temple of Poseidon in Greece.

The brand continues to look to the future by investing in new talent and ideas. Sponsorship through the Swarovski Collective programme and graduate award schemes means that emerging creatives are exposed to the potential of the material. Mary Katrantzou, Grace Wales Bonner, Rodarte and Jason Wu are amongst the many who have grown up through the collective. The most famous collaborator is Alexander McQueen, who conjured up brilliant designs fused with narrative richness and theatrical impact. Fittingly, Swarovski was the key sponsor of the record-breaking exhibition ‘Savage Beauty’ (2011) that celebrated his life’s work.

Lady Gaga during her ‘Jazz & Piano’ residency in Las Vegas, 2019. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Park MGM Las Vegas.

Derek McLane’s design for the Academy Awards stage in 2018, using millions of Swarovski crystals. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

The relationships are best when they are symbiotic. In 2019, Katrantzou designed her Temple of Poseidon couture collection that was staged as a charitable fundraising event in her native Athens with £40k worth of crystal. “Nadja Swarovski has changed the perception of how crystal is perceived, and I have challenged my own preconceptions of it. With something so visually present, it has to be part of the process from the beginning. We never want it to look like an afterthought,” says Katrantzou.

In turn, creative directors have been invited to Swarovski and been given carte blanche to design jewellery collections and components. The results have given crystal new dimensions. Consider Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Kaputt shiny/matte faceted stones, and the one million giant pearls and stones that embellished Olivier Rousteing’s first couture collection for Balmain in 2019. Challenging perceptions, groundbreaking Dutch couturier Iris van Herpen designed a ‘growing crystal’ that features raw and faceted surfaces.

‘Growing’ Swarovski into a new era is the mission for the family now. An era that is challenging for any consumer-facing business: but any company that has lived through two World Wars and a Great Depression has long-term survival in its genes. Sparkle is guaranteed, but who can say what poignant shapes it might find in the future?

For more information visit: swarovski.com

This article features in the Autumn 2020 Issue, hitting newsstands in October.