Do we like them?

Do we like Donatella Versace?

Our score: 8 out of 10. Years of visible, costly-in-Italy support for trans and LGBTQ+ people and nothing harmful found, held back only by a thin record on how she treats staff.

Donatella Versace ran the creative side of her family's fashion house for nearly three decades, taking the helm after the loss of her brother Gianni. She turned it into a loud, glossy, unapologetic brand, and that decades-long run is what everyone knows her for.

In March 2025 she stepped down as chief creative officer, handing over to Dario Vitale, and moved into a chief brand ambassador role. It came with reports of a sale to Prada, and accounts differ on whether this was a planned handover or a push, so call it a messy changing of the guard rather than a scandal.

On the harm check she does well. In September 2023 she used a Milan Fashion Week speech to back trans people and criticise the Italian government's anti-LGBTQ+ policies, which is not a risk-free thing to say in a country led by that government. Earlier, in 2020, the house's Pride capsule collection raised funds for trans-focused groups.

On the recent front, there's nothing new from 2026 that I could verify. Chatter about her heavily edited photos is tabloid territory, and I haven't counted it. I also couldn't open the deeper reporting on how she treats staff, so the good-person call rests on a quiet record rather than a deep read.

The good stuff is real: in 2024 she became the Los Angeles LGBT Center's first global ambassador, the Center announced a $50,000 donation from Versace, and she picked up the Game Changer honour at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards for her allyship. Putting that behind a brand and not just a hashtag counts for plenty.