Donatella Versace And REVOLVE Join Forces To Build A New Fashion And Beauty Business

By Jessica Ye (Jessica Yap)

Donatella is starting something new.

After nearly three decades at the helm of Versace, the legendary designer is joining forces with REVOLVE Group to create a new fashion and beauty business built around her own creative vision.

Announced in Milan and Los Angeles on 21 September, the new venture will operate independently, with Donatella taking on the role of Chief Creative Officer.

And beauty is where she is starting.

The name of the venture, its identity and the first beauty launch are still under wraps, with more details set to be revealed in the coming months. What we do know is that Donatella will oversee the creative direction, products, collaborators and the wider cultural world of the business.

REVOLVE will bring the technology, digital commerce, consumer intelligence, operations, marketing and global reach.

It is quite a different setup from the fashion house she has spent so many years leading.

Donatella became Artistic Director of Versace in 1997 following the death of her brother Gianni, taking the house into a new era while preserving the bold glamour that had become synonymous with the name. Her world extended far beyond the runway too, with music, entertainment and popular culture becoming an important part of the Versace universe.

Her friendships and collaborations with the likes of Madonna, Elton John, Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa became part of that story, as did her support of younger designers including JW Anderson, Anthony Vaccarello, Christopher Kane and Kim Jones.

Now, rather than taking over someone else’s fashion house, she is starting with a blank page.

“I believe creativity should be fearless, inclusive and alive in the world,” Donatella says. “This partnership gives me the freedom to speak to that generation in a completely new and personal way, through beauty and fashion.”

That last part is particularly intriguing.

Beauty will be the first category, but the ambition goes considerably further. The venture is expected to bring together fashion, beauty, entertainment, talent and creators through content, experiences, conversation and commerce.

The initial launch will cover the United States, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, with more markets potentially added later.

REVOLVE co-founder and co-CEO Michael Mente calls Donatella “one of the defining creative voices of our time”, while co-founder and co-CEO Mike Karanikolas says the partnership will combine her creative authority with REVOLVE’s technology, infrastructure and global reach.

For REVOLVE, it is another move into a fashion world where discovery increasingly happens online and through personalities, creators and culture. For Donatella, however, there is something rather more personal about it.

She is building something with her own name, her own point of view and, this time, no existing house to inherit.

That makes the first beauty launch particularly worth watching.

We know the designer.

We know the retailer.

We know where it is launching.

We even know that beauty is coming first.

What we do not know is the name.

Or what Donatella is going to put in that first beauty box.

And honestly, I’m quite happy to wait and find out.