What Does a Prada-fied Versace Even Look Like?
Prada and Versace are two fashion houses 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 latter's embattled parent company (and owner of Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors).
Whereas Prada is one of the rare luxury labels to surpass its peers' flagging financials, Capri is in more 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, asserting that Capri pitched Prada on the deal. According to Reuters, Prada was at least interested enough to "evaluate" a bid.
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, not quite as much.
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.
Both Versace's lack of vitality and extant name-brand recognition are plain to see. It may be down but it ain't out
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 label that doesn't hare a name with Miuccia Prada. (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)
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.
