Donatella Versace

Donatella Versace

Donatella Versace has compared J.W. Anderson to her late brother Gianni Versace.

The fashion mogul is so impressed with the British designer's capsule collection for diffusion line Versace Versus that she has paid him the ultimate compliment by likening his risk-tasking spirit to that of the label's founder, Gianni Versace, who was tragically killed in 1997.

She said: "[J.W. Anderson] is not afraid to dare, he is not afraid to provoke. He's not afraid of a mistake. It's very like my brother - if you criticise less, you're safe. I hate that word. I hate that way of thinking.

"What's different about Jonathan is that he thinks about the marketing, the buying. He sees everything together - the provocative, the daring, but also how they'll wear it."

Anderson's clothing collection features 31 looks for both men and women which combine his androgynous aesthetic with the rock 'n' roll spirit of Versus, at more moderate prices than Versace's usual creations.

He added to WWD: "Unisex is the most modern thing that a lot of people do not touch on.

"The whole collection has to feel jarred. I think there's a sharpness of the bridging of the [sexes].

"When something is ugly and wrong, I feel that it's right. You're not used to it."


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