In recent weeks there has been much debate about the “broken” fashion system, with Burberry, Tom Ford, and Vetements all throwing wrenches into the cogs of the traditional order by bidding farewell to the official calendar. But Donatella Versace has always been ahead of the game.
The emoji-fluent industry vet started working towards a buy-now-wear-model in late 2014, when she turned her iconic house’s rock ‘n’ roll diffusion line Versus into a brand for the internet generation. After tapping Anthony Vaccarello as creative director, she made the collection available online immediately after it left the runway. Now, speaking to WWD, Donatella revealed how, rather than being wary of the fashion system’s seismic shift, she wants the industry to move faster than ever.
“Right now in fashion, the future is all anyone can talk about,” she said. “The Internet and social media have changed everything. The old systems are collapsing. For many people, they find it terrifying. They want everything in fashion to stay the same, as if smartphones had never been invented. I am the opposite. I cannot remember a time when fashion has been as exciting as it is today.”
But rather than taking sole credit for disrupting the old order, the designer gave a nod to Versace’s legions of smartphone-savvy fans for leading the change.
“These young people around the world who like the pictures on my Instagram and leave their comments — they’re the luxury consumers of the future. They are the ones who are causing the changes in fashion, and will help write fashion’s future. Young people in control? I think it’s amazing.”
Interestingly, she compared the shifting plates of the fashion system to the metamorphosis of the music industry post-Napster and now iTunes. “The Internet has caused a revolution in the music industry and yet people are still making incredible tracks,” she said. We’ll assume she counts Migos among them.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Image via Instagram