- Donatella Versace has stepped down from the Versace fashion house
- She was the creative director of the brand for 28 years
- The 69-year-old is remembered for a lot, including her iconic meme
Donatella Versace has stepped down as the creative director of the Versace fashion house. This is almost as bad as when Miranda Priestly stepped down as the editor of Runway. But seriously, the iconic fashion designer’s exit came as a shock to many.
Since joining the fashion house full-time in 1997 she has produced iconic designs including Jennifer Lopez’s 2000 Grammy Awards dress. The stunning dress led to the creation of Google Images. She has designed more stunning dresses for the biggest events in Hollywood, including the Oscars and Met Gala.
Read More: 2025 Oscars: The best red carpet looks
On stepping down, Versace said she was honored to continue her brother’s legacy and “Versace is in my DNA”. Her brother Gianni Versace, Versace’s founder, was murdered in 1997 outside his Miami home. Subsequently, his sister took over and created a lasting legacy of stunning designs. Dario Vitale a former designer at Miy Miu will replace her.
While people are heartbroken that the 69-year-old is stepping down, they are proud of her legacy for the brand. Aside from her gorgeous designs, Versace is also known for her iconic 2023 meme. Let’s refresh our memories and remember when Donatella Versace became a meme.
The Donatella Versace meme: what happened?
By accident, Versace became a meme in 2023. On Valentine’s Day, Bella Hadid posted a photo of Valentine’s Day candy that said, “Will you free my Palestine?” Hadid is part Palestinian and has been very open in supporting Palestine in the Israel-Palestine conflict for years. You can view the post here.
The post received hundreds of likes and comments that gave support to the cause. Iconically the fashion designer commented on the photo and said, “Donatella VERSACE 💜”.
Immediately Versace’s comment became a meme as it had no relevance to Hadid’s post.
To this day, the comments on that post are flooded with people copying Versace’s comment.
What does the Donatella Versace meme mean?
It doesn’t mean anything! The funny thing about Versace’s comment is that it was unrelated to what Hadid posted. On such a serious post, Instagram users found it hysterical that someone would comment something like that. It was also the fact that someone as high-profile as Versace would leave such a random comment on Hadid’s Instagram without any context.
In recent years the meme has been used and referenced in pop culture to leave comments and say things completely unrelated to the subject matter of a post.
For example, if someone posted something very political or deep online and you commented those two words on a post, it would be used to signify you don’t care about what they’re saying in a jokey way.
In December 2023 in another post Hadid made about Palestine, Versace recreated her hilarious moment and left the same comment on the postt. This led fans to think it was not a coincidence and was Versace’s way of supporting Hadid’s post.
Do Bella Hadid and Versace know each other?
Yes, the two know each other! The model and the former Versace creative director have known each other for years and maintained a professional relationship. Hadid has walked on the Versace runway many times and has worn their designs to various red-carpet events. She has starred in campaigns for Versace, as has her older sister Gigi Hadid.
