Donatella Versace: 'we're not in trouble'

Interviewed by Il Giornale before the Moda Uomo summer 2005 fashion shows in Milan, Donatella Versace declared that she was 'tired of the gossip' about the company and its financial readjustment when the 100 million euro bond expires this July 6: 'the bond has been fully repaid, everything's in order', Donatella said.

'The official announcement will be made after the board meeting on July 5', Versace continued, 'but I want it to state very clearly that Versace is not in trouble. It's a tough time for everyone just now. Belts have to tightened in order to keep going and that's what we're doing'.

The stylist then admitted the company is looking for a new minority shareholder 'because money is needed to invest in the current re-launch' and with reference to the ever-changing list of names (De Sole, Tom Ford, Alberta Ferretti, Del Vecchio) she clarified: 'I really don't think it will be Del Vecchio. They already have the twenty-year license for eyewear and that's going extremely well. In the first year of the partnership with Luxottica our billings were more than double: 90 million euros against 40 million in 2002. And this year they have tripled'.

Donatella then spoke about her relationship with the boss of Luxottica: 'Del Vecchio is an exceptional businessman. I have an excellent relationship with him and he showed me [...] that we have wasted time. For years I struggled pointlessly with commercial organization, but I didn't have enough experience. However, it's just not true that the company was flourishing when Gianni died and that I then covered it with debt. The debt was already there in 1997 and it was even bigger than it is now'.