Donatella Versace: 'I love being surrounded by gorgeous guys'

                 

Donatella Versace loves men. She loves to talk about them. She loves to dress them. She loves to undress them, too – sometimes more than dressing them.                              

But that's a tradition of the house of Versace.
Her brother, Gianni, created a book titled Men Without Ties – but they were also without shirts and trousers, usually with something like a quilted bedspread or free-falling serving platter splattered with the Versace Medusa logo concealing their nether regions like a cross between an angel in a Renaissance fresco and Austin Powers.

"He liked sexy men," says Donatella Versace, frankly. "And men like to be sexy. And not only gay men. I realise that heterosexual men like to be sexy more than gay men, honestly!"

It's 24 hours before the Versace autumn/winter 2014 presentation, but Donatella Versace looks immaculate.
Not harassed or stressed, despite it being one of the busiest points of her year: three weeks ago, she showcased her pre-autumn Versace collection, and in a week's time will open the haute couture season in Paris with her made-to-measure Atelier Versace line.
There's also the pending announcement of which of a trio of reported suitors will pick up a 20pc stake in the Versace company, which value the company at €1.1bn.

Versace menswear is a big part of that, which is true across the board in fashion.
The emergence of China as a major force in luxury retailing has impacted global menswear sales – men make up at least 55pc of China's enormous luxury market, set against a global average of  40.           
"Gianni was the first to open a store in Shanghai – in 1983," says Donatella as an aside. "Back then, it was just Versace!" China, India and Brazil are the markets she mentions when commenting on the recent boom in Versace menswear sales, an increase she says of 46pc.

The surprising thing? Set those sales increases alongside the Versace collections themselves. Last winter, Donatella showed lace lingerie for men, while for summer 2013 she wrapped her man in studded gladiator belts for a collection whose inspiration was "part Rocky, part Elvis, part Mr T".

Her tongue is firmly in cheek when she says that, but nevertheless one would assume it's a pretty tough sell. Apparently not. Go into stores and it's the lavish printed silk shirts and heavily studded jackets with the eye-watering price tags that have made it on to the rails, but don't stay there for long.