Versace

About the house

Gianni Versace founded the house in Milan in 1978 and opened its first boutique on the Via della Spiga. His brother Santo served as president. Fragrance came a few years later, though sources differ on the year and the exact name of the first bottle, with one account listing Gianni Versace for Women in 1981 and Now Smell This dating a first Gianni Versace fragrance to 1982.

Gianni was killed in 1997. At that point the business was valued at about $807 million, with 130 boutiques worldwide. His sister Donatella assumed design control, and the family kept the company under its control after his death. Donatella led the house's creative side until 1 April 2025, when Fashion Dive reported that she stepped down as chief creative officer and became chief brand ambassador. In the announcement she said it had been the greatest honor of her life to carry on her brother Gianni's legacy.

Perfume has run through a licensee for a long time. Euroitalia, an Italian company, has held the Versace fragrance license since 2005. Euroitalia describes Eros as an international success story drawing on Greek mythology, and lists the Atelier Versace collection as introduced in 2019. Now Smell This sums the house up as known for bright colors and sexy styles.

Ownership of the fashion house changed hands most recently on 2 December 2025, when Capri Holdings completed the sale of its Versace business to Prada. Capri's filing gives the price as $1.375 billion in cash, subject to adjustments, while one other account puts it at about 1.25 billion euros.