Domenica with Donatella
“Clothes make a woman or a woman makes the clothes ?” — Stefano Tonghi
“A woman wears clothes to achieve something in life!” — Donatella Versace
Last Sunday I spent the day to the yearly Sunday with the Magazine , the first to be held in the new Times Center designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano.
The event consisted of a Sunday series of TimesTalks with the editors and writers of the New York Times Magazine and some of today’s most compelling talents & thinkers. Subjects ranged from sports and politics to fashion.
On the fashion Donatella Versace was the selected feature guests. Donatella’s TimesTalk, titled “The Way We Dress,” was interviewed by T Magazine editor the very charming Stefano Tonchi.
The atmosphere is great, fashion people around me , everyone is waiting to see Donatella appear. Et Voila. She’s wearing a long very tight black satin dress and impressive, yes very impressive diamond bracelets. Stefano seems nervous, he says between applauses that him and Donatella need support.
Two Italians that think in their language are going to express themselves for an American crowd that speaks English…They both laugh, another encouraging applause and the first question shot by Stefano is about Donatella’s mother style influence on her daughter, he also wants to know if alive would she approve of Donatella style. Mother who was a clothes designer herself would approve.
For those who had hope, don’t expect a Versace diffusion line at H&M while Donatella heads the label. She’s been asked to do a lower-priced line, she refused. “I respect everyone who does it,” she said. “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.” The talk was a rare opportunity to see Versace with her guard let down.
She explained why she started wearing very tight leather clothes. “I think I was very shy,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of pain in my life. And sometimes I did that so people wouldn’t get too close to me.” That pain stemmed from the death of her brother Gianni, which she numbed with drugs during what she called a very lonely time in her life. “Nobody is superwoman or superman,” she said. “You need to say, ‘I have a problem.’ And everything gets better.”
And did you know Donatella wasn’t always so blonde, tan, and blingin’? It’s true! When she was growing up in Italy, Gianni dressed her up like a doll and took her to clubs. “Gianni told me, ‘Why don’t you do some highlights?’ By eleven and a half, I was a little blonde. By 14, I was blonder. By 16, I was platinum,” she said. Versace also reminisced about her visit to the White House Correspondents’ dinner, where she had hoped to meet Barack Obama. But she did meet President Bush, whom she called a “very simple man.”
Donatella caught us off guard when she said that of all the foreign markets she has stores in, from China to Russia to Dubai, she feels most at home in America. She noted, “America is still the most important market. If you can make it in America, you can make it in the world.” It’s nice someone has faith in our economy. But she didn’t go without sharing her sense of humor.
When asked who she’d like to be reincarnated as in her next life, she paused for a moment and grinned. “Maya Rudolph,” she answered, naming the Saturday Night Live cast member who memorably satirized her over-the-top persona. She also says you should never let a rapper have more bling than you. Via New York Magazine
Stefano then asked her to redefine modern. “Modern is to be free, fearless, forceful. A man from the audience wanted to know how many hours a day she would wear those high hill shoes,” her answer was 24 Hours”.
My opinIon on Donatella as a person changed. She’s human, has great sense of humor, she’s humble, simple, focused, powerful, direct.
May she always be that beautiful person that transformed one of my Sundays in New York into an lovely sunny Domenica full of style and life wisdom.
Canfora
