Freshly formalized as a Fashion Icon at Monday night’s Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, Tuesday night saw Donatella Versace move down the road for the opening of her new store on London’s Sloane Street.
Attired in fishnets, knee-high platforms, and a fitted, embellished Versace dress from Spring ’18, Donatella got behind the Technics with DJ Crackstevens and caught up with guests including Natasha Poly, Jefferson Hack, and Jamie Campbell Bower. So far, so fabulous. Yet when we caught up with her, what Donatella wanted to emphasize most was the laudable ongoing Versace-wide adoption of sustainable practices, exemplified by this new outpost.
“I’m proud of the store; we really took care of green energy,” she said. “This store has a higher level of sustainability. The power supplies, the materials used—this marble, this wood—everything has been planned [to minimize environmental impact]. Sustainability is important to the new generation, and it is important to us, too—right down to the clothes, the fabrics, and the colors.” She added that all fresh Versace properties, including a New York store some time in the future, will follow and develop this new green credo. But that doesn’t mean Donatella’s days of decadence are entirely behind her. “After the awards last night? We went on to the Chiltern Firehouse, for lots of music and lots of chat.”