If Donatella Versace Leaves Her Fashion Brand, Will Hollywood Follow?

There’s a scene in “The Devil Wears Prada” where Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly is fighting to keep her top fashion magazine job. Over coffee in Paris, Priestly slips a piece of paper to her boss containing the names of “designers, photographers, editors, writers, models — all of whom found by me, nurtured by me and have promised me they will follow me whenever and if ever I choose to leave.” Naturally, the boss reconsidered and Priestly won the day.

A stylist friend recently recalled this scene to me in the context of Donatella Versace, the lauded designer (and star in her own right) who has been the face of her namesake fashion house for nearly 30 years. A January report said Versace’s contract with her brand’s owner, Capri Holdings, expires in February. Chatter from Milan wonders if that deal will be renewed.

It would be a fascinating pivot for Versace, 69, to depart a company she sustained and scaled for decades after the shocking 1997 murder of her brother and founder Gianni. More interestingly, it has industry tongues wagging about what exactly Capri inherits if she walks away.

“Donatella isn’t just a great designer, she is and always has been the curator of the world of Versace,” one entertainment executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “And that’s all about the talent who wants to work with her.”

Celebrity is a dominant strand in Versace’s DNA. This was evident in early days when the house made global sensations of its ‘90s models (Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford) and anointed music royalty as high fashion stars (Madonna, Cher, Elton John). Many style publications note that the red carpet was forever changed in 1991 when Crawford attended the Oscars with Richard Gere, rocking a body-hugging Versace creation in fire engine red. Not unlike Priestly and her powerful list, the Versace brand is still very much defined by the level of talent that flocks to…