What Does a Prada-fied Versace Even Look Like?
Prada and Versace are on opposing ends of luxury. Save for being Italian, they have little in common: Prada is intellectual and patiently self-effacing whereas Versace is loud and luscious, all pomp and circumstance.
So, at face value, it'd seem odd that Prada would be in talks to acquire Versace. And yet, here we are.
According to a January 10 Reuters report, Prada is in the very early stages of weighing its own interest in purchasing Versace from Capri Holdings, the embattled owner of Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors
While Prada is one of the rare luxury labels to surpass its peers' flagging financials, Capri is in comparatively dire straits.
After Coach parent Tapestry's $8.5 billion bid to purchase Capri was shut down by an American judge and Capri reported underwhelming quarterly revenue, the Italian conglomerate purportedly began weighing opportunities to sell Jimmy Choo and Versace.
Italian financial paper Il Sole 24 Ore broke the story of Prada's apparent interest in Versace in mid-January, asserting that Capri pitched Prada on the deal. According to Reuters, Prada was at least interested enough to "evaluate" a bid. And rumors of Versace's new Prada-fied direction continued in February.
If true and, if Prada did indeed buy Versace, it'd join the relatively compact Prada Group, which comprises fashion brands Prada and Miu Miu, shoemakers Church’s and Car Shoe, and Italian pastry shop Marchesi 1824.
This would, in turn, likely yield a "Prada-fied" Versace, an all-new era for the nearly 50-year-old luxury label but not one untethered from the house's past.
You can find various examples of young people dismissing Versace online, citing its seeming quality and reputation for glitz as turnoffs. This has more to do with a perception of Versace than its actual products but, in this industry, reputation is everything.
And the current state of things is: Prada cool, Versace less so.
A recent LYST Index ranking of the 20 hottest luxury brands as Q3 2024 dropped Versace five places from its previous slot to number 11. This places Versace behind Valentino and only just barely ahead of Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand, SKIMS.
For comparison, Prada stayed strong at number 3 while sibling label Miu Miu easily claimed number 1. (Amusingly, in one of the backstage shots from Versace's recent Spring/Summer 2025 runway show, you can see someone wearing Prada loafers, reflecting the Milanese label's sheer ubiquity)
Both Versace's lack of vitality and extant name-brand recognition are plain to see. It may be down but it ain't out, not by a long shot.
All it really needs is some guidance to reclaim the throne and Prada's Midas touch could indeed be just what Versace seeks. There's also ample opportunity here for Prada, which has yet to oversee a clothing line that doesn't share its name with creative director Miuccia Prada, and could tap into Versace to serve a different (but not so different) kind of client.
I'm imagining a post-Prada-fication Versace hearkening back to the days of Donatella's brother, Gianni, where the knowingly lurid was balanced with the inarguably slick.
Although Donatella has cannily guided Versace over the decades, her approach is notably distinct from that of the late designer.
While Donatella teases out sensuality through trim cuts and flashy fabrics, for instance — a balance both commercial and consciously approachable — Gianni was both more and less overt in his paeans to the human form.
He would simultaneously propose gloriously gaudy statement pieces and finely cut leather coats, neither of which look all that far removed from Prada's contemporary output.
Some of the rawer elements of Gianni Versace's collections — shirtless beefcakes strolling the catwalk in Versace skivvies — look their age but his exquisite eye for draped tailoring remains as ageless as Armani's.
It's easy to imagine that, under Prada's direction, Versace's yen for bare skin would likely remain alongside house signatures like gold hardware and the Medusa head, but they'd all be rendered a bit more modest, balanced with only occasional outbursts of characteristic pizazz.
Think of something more in line with Versace's late '80s and early '90s collections.
In other words, a Prada-fied Versace would likely still look like Versace.
This article was published on January 10 and updated on February 18 to reflect additional rumors.
