Born in May 1955, Donatella Versace has has kept the Versace name and empire at the fore-front of fashion since the untimely death of her brother Gianni in 1997, never failing to look anything other than immaculate along the way.
- Along with her three siblings, Donatella was brought up in Calabria, Italy, by their father and dressmaker mother.
- In the mid-Seventies, Donatella became the "muse and critic" of her brother Gianni, who had established his eponymous Versace label. He later gave Donatella her own label - Versus.
- In the Eighties she had two children - Allegra, born in 1986, and Daniel, born in 1989.
- When her brother Gianni was murdered in July 1997, Donatella took the reins of the Versace empire, keeping it a major player in the fashion industry.
- It was Donatella's daughter Allegra - then aged 11 - who inherited the lion's share of Gianni's fortune - a 50 per cent stake in the Versace brand.
- In February 2001, Donatella launched her own fragrance, Versace Woman.
- Under her watch, Versace moved beyond clothing to include accessories, home furnishings, and hotels, morphing Versace into a complete lifestyle brand.
- In 2008, she was made the honorary chairman for London's Fashion Fringe, judging upcoming designer talent.
- In 2009, Donatella asked Christopher Kane to revive Versus. The pair successfully revitalised the brand, making it a major player again on the Fashion Week schedule.
- After Kane's departure in November 2012, appointed up-and-coming Irish designer JW Anderson to create a capsule collection for the Versus label. "Jonathan is a perfect fit for this inaugural capsule collection," Versace told us. "In addition to being a talented designer, he's well versed with the new digital world and is, therefore, an ideal partner for our new direction."
