On Thursday, in the biggest luxury deal of the year, Prada announced it was buying Versace for 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) from Capri Holdings, a beleaguered New York group that at one point styled itself as the American answer to the great fashion groups of France.
The deal is a sign of faith in the continued value of Made in Italy at a time when financial markets are in chaos because of Trump’s policies. And it marks the end of Capri’s attempt to create an American luxury group to rival LVMH and Kering, while signaling an attempt by Prada to create an Italian competitor to the powerhouses.
Versace will join Prada and Miu Miu, as well as Luna Rossa, America’s Cup sailing team, and pastry brand Marchesi as part of Prada Group, creating a “best in class” mosaic of Italian savoir-faire. It also gives Prada Group‘s fashion holding critical mass, adding a ready-to-wear brand with a different identity to those of Miu Miu and Prada – as well as one that is not dependent on designer Miuccia Prada – to the mix. Prada CEO Andrea Guerra said the acquisition would add, “a new dimension, different and complementary,” to the group. “The journey will be long,” he added.
Prada and Versace are, on the surface, a study in contrasts. Versace made its name on a celebration of flash and fantasy, reveling in sun, sex, the male gaze and the tightrope between bad taste and elegance. Prada, by contrast, embraced a contrarian exploration of the meaning of femininity, gender politics and strange allure of ugly chic. But, Prada chairman Patrizio Bertelli said, “we share a strong commitment to creativity, craftsmanship and heritage,” and an understanding of consumer power of brand semiology – the upside triangle, medusa head – and a belief in the importance of family.
Miuccia Prada is close to Donatella Versace, who stepped in to run the company her late brother Gianni founded in 1997; though Versace left her position as chief creative officer last month, she is “delighted’ to have her brand back in family hands.
