Versace’s fortunes have been waning in recent years as the nearly 50 year old brand struggles to capture consumers as it once did.<\/p>\n
Prada, on the other hand, has found immense success, thanks in part to its more youthful label, Miu Miu \u2014 its name derived from its owner, Miuccia Prada.<\/p>\n
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Gianni Versace backstage with supermodels Karen Mulder, Linda Evangelista and Carla Bruni in 1992. (Getty Images: Foc Kan\/WireImage)<\/p>\n
In March, Donatella Versace stepped down as creative director<\/a>, nearly three decades after she took up the role following the assassination of her brother and the brand’s founder, Gianni Versace.<\/p>\n She was replaced by former Miu Miu head Dario Vitale \u2014 though executives say his move was unrelated to the Prada deal.<\/p>\n Now, with a new owner, Versace will be hoping to be brought back into style.<\/p>\n Cultural headwinds<\/p>\n When it comes to fashion, Prada and Versace could not be more different.<\/p>\n “They’re kind of polar opposites,” said Kirstie Clements, the former editor of Vogue Australia, adding Versace had always been “dynamic”.<\/p>\n “If you go back to when it was designed by Gianni Versace, [it was] really bright, colourful, sexy, in your face, glitzy,” she told ABC News.<\/p>\n “But not over the top because he always had a sense of restraint.”<\/p>\n Versace is synonymous with bold patterns, glitzy embellishments and seductive silhouettes. (Reuters: Stefano Rellandini)<\/p>\n Alternatively, Prada is a “more intellectual brand”, said Clements, with its aesthetic not being overtly sexy.<\/p>\n “They’re both very representative of Italian fashion, but super different.” Prada’s latest collection featured the brand’s signature clean lines and a subdued color palette. (Reuters: Alessandro Garofalo\/File Photo)<\/p>\n According to The Australian Financial Review’s fashion editor Lauren Sams, Versace’s struggles in recent years can be attributed to a post-pandemic economy, but also “cultural headwinds”.<\/p>\n “I think it says a lot when Palazzo Versace, the hotel attached to the fashion brand, that when it opened in Australia, it opened on the Gold Coast and that was the perfect spot for it,” she told ABC News Channel.<\/p>\n “It was a place where you could be outsized and sexy and outrageous, and that is what Versace is.<\/p>\n “That is not really sort of the time at the moment. We are not really having that moment in fashion.”<\/p>\n A mini skirt with maximum impact<\/p>\n In 2022, a very short skirt by Miu Miu became one of the most coveted pieces in the industry.<\/p>\n Debuted on the runway the previous season, the pleated, eye-poppingly low-slung mini skirt captured the attention of the front row \u2014 and soon after, the rest of the internet.<\/p>\n This skirt from Miu Miu was a hit with industry insiders, influencers and celebrities alike. (Getty Images: Vanni Bassetti)<\/p>\n The mini skirt was seen on Zendaya, Emma Corrin and Emily Ratajkowski, to name a few.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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