logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
21m 35s

Arrivederci, Donatella Versace

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL & GIMLET
About this episode

After nearly three decades as creative director, Donatella Versace is stepping down from her role at her family’s fashion house. The announcement comes after years of clashes between the designer and the American businessman who acquired her family’s brand. WSJ’s Suzanne Kapner unpacks the drama and discusses what it means for the fashion house. 


Further Reading:

-Inside the Versace Clash Between Donatella and the ‘American Cowboy’ CEO 

-Donatella Versace to Step Down as Chief Creative Officer of Versace 

-The Plan to Revive Michael Kors and Versace Tanked Their Sales Instead

Further Listening:

-The Resurrection of Abercrombie & Fitch 

-Old Navy Tried to Make Sizes for All. It Backfired. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Jul 14
Why Elon Musk’s AI Chatbot Went Rogue
Last week, Grok went rogue. The AI chatbot – which users can interact with on X – posted antisemitic comments and graphic descriptions of violence before being deactivated, leaving users with a question: Where were Grok’s guardrails? WSJ’s Alexander Saeedy breaks down what happen ... Show More
22m 52s
Jul 11
Can Superman Save Warner?
The man of steel is back in a new $225 million reboot. Riding on this weekend’s release is the hope that DC Studios will finally begin to match the past successes of its archrival Marvel. Its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery views DC Studios as critical to its success or fai ... Show More
22m 36s
Jul 10
Who Will Be the Next Fed Chair? Maybe Kevin
For years, President Trump has feuded with the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell over interest rates. And now, two Republicans named Kevin (Kevin Hassett, one of Trump’s closest economic advisers and Kevin Warsh—a former Fed governor) are vying to be the next chairman of th ... Show More
22m 47s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
Breaking News: Demna Takes Gucci, Versace Enters a New Creative Chapter
Demna's move to Gucci, announced after weeks of feverish speculation, stunned industry observers and sent shockwaves through financial markets, with Kering shares dropping sharply by more than 12%. While some hail this as an opportunity for Demna to reinvent Gucci through his dis ... Show More
26m 38s
Aug 2024
Miuccia Prada: ‘Ugly fashion’
How a communist mime artist became the billionaire boss of a luxury fashion house. Miuccia Prada changed her name, then made it famous with one of the runway’s biggest brands. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how the Italian fashion designer turne ... Show More
40m 37s
Dec 2024
From Handbags to Haute Couture: Overcoming Fashion Industry Hurdles, Reframing Failure, and the Power of Persistence with Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger
As a designer, breaking into the fashion industry can be challenging even when you have the best connections. Success requires grit, determination, resilience, and the ability to keep getting back up after failures and setbacks. Just ask Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger, Founder & Creative D ... Show More
38m 55s
Aug 2021
Inclusive, Purpose-Driven - the Future of Fashion According to Kenyan Designer Anyango Mpinga
Everyone's talking about climate action and social change - but Fashion is still carrying on like it's 1999. The velvet rope! Exclusivity! Snobbery and barriers to entry that lock many young designers with new ideas, out. Fashion weeks alone are massive carbon emitters, before we ... Show More
39m 26s
Oct 2024
Succession : les mystérieux propriétaires de Chanel (2/2)
Après le décès de Paul Wertheimer, puis celui de son frère Pierre, ce sera au fils de ce dernier, Jacques, de prendre la tête de Chanel en 1965. Mais cet esthète fantasque et mondain se révélera moins doué en affaires que ses aînés et son train de vie menacera l’avenir de l’entre ... Show More
15m 22s
Sep 2024
New York Fashion Week Edition: Lafayette 148’s Emily Smith – ‘We want to represent ourselves in our own way through our own stores’
NYC-based luxury womenswear brand Lafayette 148 has earned a loyal, influential customer base in its 28-year history — many members of which turned out for the brand’s spring 2025 collection presentation in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood on Monday. Among recognizable attendees viewin ... Show More
26m 35s
Oct 2024
Succession : les mystérieux propriétaires de Chanel (1/2)
Dans « Succession », Raphaëlle Bacqué et Vanessa Schneider racontent les histoires de succession des grandes familles du capitalisme français. Dans cet épisode du podcast « L’Heure du Monde », les deux grandes reporters nous racontent l’histoire de la famille très discrète à la t ... Show More
19m 14s
Jul 2024
INSIDE Forbes | The Fashion 50 | Forbes ME July 2024
This month, Forbes Middle East presents the Fashion 50 for the first time, an extraordinary list of taste-makers who are shaking up the fashion world, highlighting those from the Middle East who are making a name for themselves across both the regional and global fashion industri ... Show More
13s
Aug 15
Is it OK for fashion brands to take inspiration from other cultures?
Mexico's president is among those who have criticised Adidas for perceived cultural appropriation. The brand's Oaxaca Slip-On was inspired by traditional leather sandals known as huaraches made by Indigenous artisans in Mexico. But with its slip-ons, Adidas and its designer Willy ... Show More
10m 4s
Sep 2024
New York Fashion Week Edition: Editor-turned-entrepreneur Kate Davidson Hudson on bringing shoppable runways to NYFW
Kate Davidson Hudson is among the utmost Fashion Month experts, having experienced the shows from a variety of perspectives — as a fashion editor, a street style star and, now, a retail company founder and CEO. In March, Davidson soft-launched Vêtir, which she describes as a “sma ... Show More
29m 2s