Reflections on Antonio Mancinelli’s fine piece on Donatella Versace
I read Antonio Mancinelli’s piece on Donatella Versace and her new venture with Revolve. I admire his lexical richness, his concision and the scenographic force with which he builds images. Some of them led me to reflect on what I have worked on for years: communication, reputation and the building of brand value.
“Prada bought Versace. Revolve is betting on Donatella.” Two different deals, two values that until yesterday were almost impossible to separate. And again: “The Medusa stays with the maison; she brings her own celebrity into the partnership.” The brand, the history, the archives and the creative and commercial heritage remain inside Versace. Donatella brings what could not be included in the sale: renown, image, reputation, relationships and a professional legacy built over decades of work. She knows how to make fashion, how to build a collection; she knows the product and the craft.
“The family estate has changed owner; the personal one is looking for another return.” How transferable is the value of a brand when it coincides with a surname, and that surname keeps living through the person who represented it for decades? Prada bought the history, the archive, the international recognition, the clientele. But if part of that value can travel from the maison to the person, and from the person to a new project, where does Versace’s value end and Donatella’s begin?
A brand can be sold. Personal reputation, much less so. And the question goes beyond Versace: when a designer sells the brand to which their name and work were tied and starts again with a new project, how much can they really bring with them? The craft, certainly. It is harder to say how much of the reputation and desirability built around the old brand can transfer to the new one.
Then there is the product. In a crowded fashion landscape you have to work out where to place it, what space it can occupy, with what quality, manufacturing and fabrics, and above all with what look. It needs a reason to exist: something still missing that can make it attractive, sought-after, even irreplaceable. Social media, influencers, press offices and digital platforms can put it in front of millions of people, but being visible does not mean being attractive. You need that patina that makes people talk about it, look for it and desire it: word of mouth, today also digital, but above all reputation. Communication can accelerate desire. If it has to build desire on its own, the problem is no longer communication: it is the brand and, before that, the product.
This is where the Donatella–Revolve deal becomes interesting. Revolve has distribution, digital reach and access to a young audience. Donatella brings recognition, reputation and craft. Mancinelli’s question remains: “The convenience is understandable. The aesthetic necessity awaits an explanation.” In the end, it will be the clothes that have to provide it.
Donatella can transfer celebrity, attention, relationships, expertise and reputation. But recognition and desirability are not the same thing. The first can be inherited from a history. The second has to be won again. And that is where we will see what the name Donatella is really worth, after Versace.
–
–
Alessandro Sicuro
Brand Strategist | Photographer | Art Director | Project Manager
Alessandro Sicuro Comunication
