Development
Since the brand was founded in 1978 with “over 200 boutiques in the principal cities
and over 1500 wholesalers worldwide’ Versace. (2023). Versace Company Profile
| US Online Store. [online] Available at: https://www.versace.com/us/en/about-us/
company-profile.html. the brand has been a pinnacle of femininity extravagance
and self-expression representing an entire spectrum allowing customers to have a
feel of self-representation with the brand and the apparel with garments expressing
themes of pop art, nature, heavy embellishment, bondage and more showcasing
the brand as an extraverted flamboyant powerhouse, in the 80’s where neon’s
and colours where bursting with Versace not shy of incorporating this a sense of
joyful expression in their garments the western world indulging in a materialistic
mindset and a shift in consumerism post 70’s recession with new enhancements
in technology bringing in cheaper goods and introducing products such as the
fax machine, camcorders, personal computers and accessible television allowing
consumers to more affordably watch colour tv; with this innovation in entertainment
came new channels such as MTV debuting at the start of the decade being beloved
by viewers the channel showcased music videos of upcoming and established
artists propelling careers and working symbiotically for the music industry
establishing the format of music videos and bringing attention to artists and events
of the time. This decade is significant in the start of a culture of entertainment
seeking consumer with the desire to find escapism in activities, lifestyle, and
fashion which Versace very much conveyed.
The brand played a significant role in the market embracing and reflecting the change of
the time especially with the feminist movement, the brand wasn’t shy of personality and with
designs made to empower and be enjoyed by both wearer and viewers the garments featured
vibrant colours, extravagant and playful prints as well as bold and adventurous shapes, with
this departure from the usual more conservative style Versace took a spot in the market that
was very scarce of individuality challenging societal expectations on what women should wear,
creating a sense of confidence and authority as well as embracing sexuality toying with shape
and trends such as ‘power dressing’ Versace’s designs aligned with the woman’s ethos at the
time. While the movement was being acknowledge the brand did not explicitly comment or
speak on the matter but rather celebrated expressions on femininity with designs ranging from
powerful authoritative work wear in alternative styles to sensual and glamours respectfully going
against the conservative norm with a higher hem line and alternative styles that show skin
Versace truly aimed and succeeded in resonating with what its consumers desired recognising
the multifaceted nature of women’s identities offering vessels to challenge the conventions of
the industry with a narrative where at the heart lies the medusa emblem, a statement piece of
iconography that’s now synonyms and the very core of the Versace brand.
The symbol of magnificence and power, of a women originally known for being the most
beautiful woman in Athens and the centuries old story of her curse the emblem perfectly
embodies the essence of Versace’s transformative and captivating designing with Gianni stating
himself “he made people fall in love with her and they had no way back.” Versace (n.d.) Google
Arts & Culture. [Online] https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/versace/m036rzw?hl=en.
making the choice very intentional and perfectly show what the brand stands for, the brand also
incorporates other Greek motifs into its designs with the branding of the fashion house being
very well known for its geometrical structured prints being a key design aspect the brand also
takes inspiration from the Baroque style originating in Italy between the 17th century and the
first half of the 18th the movement which is a highly ornate and elaborate style that emphasises
drama, exaggerating and shows great artistic detail was quite influential and became the first
visual style to have a significant global impact merging together mediums such as sculpture,
architecture and painting’s with the purpose to directly connect with and touch the viewers
senses and intellect.
in opposition the renaissance style which focused balance symmetry and was very controlled
by the church Baroque was a more lavish interpretation that took more liberty with depth and
contrast rather than being a plain staged visual Baroque showcased scenes in motion showing
emotion and story’s tying this into the Versace brand shows the commitment to the consumer
in its rich design to create pieces that transcend ordinary clothing to create an experience in
allowing its consumers to become art themselves setting Versace apart embracing a fusion of
art, history and innovation.
Architecture and art
Versace at its core is about expression with design’s that speaks to individuals who view fashion as a form of self-expression and whom embody confidence, individuality and flamboyance with the brand accommodating this by providing goods beyond clothing, offering consumers accessories, fragrances and a myriad of products that seek to provide enrichment and allow the brand to how itself much more than a fashion house and allow itself to be intwined with its consumers as a partner in lifestyle by catering a luxury selection of everyday home & lifestyle offering set to elevate life with opulence. Being one of the first fashion houses to launch lines for interiors allow for its consumers to experiment with the same playful fashion outside of the wardrobe bringing the Versace essence and style to products such as the brands renowned jungle print and incorporating the style into its wallpaper and other textile furniture pieces. While the brands textiles and accessories are produced internally the brand outsources having a partnership with Lifestyle Design Group.
Demographics
Versace caters to the younger end of the market with the largest percentage of the age group being 25-35 making up 32.71% of the website traffic and overall 56.5% of website users being female Similarweb (2024). https://www.similarweb.com/website/versace.com/#demographics the brand offers a diverse array of lines tailoring to both men and women of different tastes and foe different occasions with lines ranging for the everyday, activewear, formal attire and much more, Versace offers great versatility with its apparel and designs allowing feeding into consumers potential needs allowing fanatics of the fashion house to adopt Verace into multiple if not every aspect of the consumers life through their wardrobe targeting individuals whom perceive fashion as a form of expression and are willing to invest in high quality garments that allow wearers to not only gain confidence and boost their self-esteem but also transcend this and allow wearers to be adopted into the fantasy of empowerment and feel as if they are one with the Verace brand image establishing a deeper connection with the values and connotations of the brand that may already be embedded within the consumers psyche allowing the feelings of sophistication, glamour and surrealism to surface. The top source of traffic for the brands website came from organic searches with 38.45% coming from desktop visits in December 2023 and the second highest driver being paid search coming in at 28.24% Similarweb (2024). https://www.similarweb.com/website/versace.com/#demographics allowing the brand to gain a competitive advantage when searching for luxury goods by securing the top position the website gains exposure and the brand gaining awareness the traffic driven by this allows Versace to expand its consumer base as well as leveraging the paid searches to draw back in consumers who may have previously browsed the website or looked at Versace products but didn’t make a purchase drawing back potential buyers.
Operating markets
Opening two new stores in Shanghai in 2022 and an additional five in 2023 Versace have been operating in China opening their first store in 1980 and are prominently investing into the Chinese market seizing opportunities such as during shanghai fashion week presenting an underwater themed immersive experience displaying products for the SS21 collection displaying a large coral structure around the iconic medusa head with mannequins displaying garments and the structure presenting handbags the art insulation creatively blends technology and sculpture to create an immersive experience to present their goods, the installation also includes a digital 3D interactive digital floor creating small wave patterns around browsers feet as well as mimicking wild life. Chloè(2021)https:// workingnotworking.com/projects/261675-versace-ss21-shanghai the house also recently opened a new resort in Macau adding to its portfolio of hotel lines Palazzo Versace joining its sister hotels located on the golden coast of Australia and Dubai expanding in this manor especially in foreign markets further cements Versace as a global power house and further more anchors Versace’s as a lifestyle allowing consumers to experience the brand not as a retailer but as a culture providing its clients with an opulent experience far exceeding that of wearing a garment allowing those whom stay at the hotels to be consumed by the Versace brand.
Not only dose Versace invest but also give back in November of 2008 presenting 2009 summer spring collections with the fashion house supporting the Jet Li One foundation founded by the Chinese red cross foundation leader Jet Li in 2007 making Versace an early investor creating a Versace/One logo with proceeds going towards opening children’s centres for post trauma and phycological relief in San Jiang, Nast, C. (2008) The One For Versace. British Vogue. [Online] [Accessed on 15th January 2024] https://www.vogue.co.uk/ article/versace-to-show-in-china. branching out embedding itself into the market while emotionally appealing to local consumers, through this the brand stay’s relevant, raises awareness and draws in consumers appealing to their empathetic sides cultivating and strengthening the emotional connection with the brand.
media
Being a major fashion house and a colossal influential player in the industry it is vital that Versace maintain and optimise their presence to reach its target consumer implementing a multifaceted approach to reaching out utilising an array of channels to effectively engage with its audience and drive traffic to the website while also spreading brand awareness as well as highlighting and showing off new lines and campaigns, using meta platforms Versace operate on both Facebook and Instagram shearing high quality images and videos of campaigns, merchandise, editorials and behind the scenes using platforms such as this allows the brand to show relevance and be able to reach its targeted age group with 31.1% of Instagram users being between 25-34 perfectly aligning with Versace’s target demographics stacey McLachlan(2018) Hootsuite Social Media Management. [Online] https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-demographics. / and significantly performing better by receiving more engagement for the same content showed on Facebook with the same post receiving 25k likes on Instagram and only 25 on Facebook with only 17.6% of face books users consisting of 25-36 year The Social Shepherd. [Online] https://thesocialshepherd.com/blog/facebook-statistics#:~:text=In%20January%202023%2C%20it%20was.. showing how the Instagram as platform is a lot better suited for brand awareness being a more visually lead social platform with image at the forefront it is easier to orchestrate an aesthetic layout displaying content while also monitoring hashtags for certain campaigns as well as being able to link the actual products used in shots allowing consumers to more easily find products, on top of this Versace can use the comment section to directly see the responses and how the post has performed.
Versace has always appealed to younger demographics with a long history of presenting young and attractive models with the brand are not afraid to show skin Versace and known for its flirtations campaigns the brand shows off an underlining note of sex and desire within its campaigns showing empowerment by featuring women at the focal point of its campaign but not as an object presenting the models as assertive, confident and the main protagonist of the shoot, radiating independence and strength trough bold poses, expressions or styling trough these shoots and campaigns Versace do not fail to exude individuality and maintain the image of empowerment which resonates with a younger market who are not afraid of expressing themselves or using fashion as a medium to celebrate their individuality.
EDI & Sustainablity
The brands campaign’s feature and embrace a diverse array of models
of different heritage’s showcasing the brands commitment to EDI and
representation which anchors an empowering narrative for women as a whole
emphasizing there is no singular definition of beaty or femininity and that no
matter a person’s appearance or beliefs Versace is a house all is welcome
in with the vice president and artistic director stating herself “What matters is
not the colour of our skin, where we come from or our religious beliefs, but
what we bring to the table. I am interested in what people have to say, in what
people do.” Donatella Versace AnOther (2021) Donatella Versace Speaks on
the Importance of Community and Inclusivity. AnOther. [Online] https://www.
anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/13253/donatella-versace-on-inclusivity-
community-another-magazine-ss-21.
The brand also showcases a positive stance when it comes to sustainability
with a dedicated page on their website showing stories and actions being
taken by the brand to create a more sustainable brand, phasing out its fur
collection from 2019 with Donatella speaking out taking more ethical steps
in how the brand operates “This commitment is Donatella Versace (2022)
https://www.versace.com/gb/en/stories/sustainability/versace-fur-free.html.
part of a broader, sustainable innovation program the Company is pursuing”
Donatella Versace as well as creating a completely sustainable dress made
from 100% organic silk and threads consisting of 100% cotton “everything is
certificated as GOTS: Global Organic Textile Standard” Versace(2022) https://
www.versace.com/gb/en/stories/sustainability/met-gala.html by shifting to a
more sustainable way of operating Versace opens itself up to more conscious
buyers especially that of the brands demographic with young consumers with
an eco-driven focus on fashion Versace are stepping into the right direction
in attracting and maintaining its target consumers by openly communicating
about these practices Versace and showing this transparency in its values the
fostering greater connections with its consumers and presents itself as a more
appealing brand to its audience and those who resonate with its values.
Spending habits
Versace also has proven to be forward thinking on the tech scene constantly finding
ways to fuse technology with art, adapting themselves over the years by being
“the first fashion major luxury fashion house to make all its ranges available to buy
direct online” Mary-Louise Clews (2012) Versace takes control of digital customers
– Marketing Week. Marketing Week. [Online] https://www.marketingweek.com/
versace-takes-control-of-digital-customers/. in 2012 innovating themselves thinking
about how to best reach it consumers and being so influential with inspiring google
to creation of google image search with google even stating “a green Versace dress
broke the internet, and Google Images was born” (2019) Google. [Online] https://
blog.google/products/search/18-years-after-google-images-versace-jungle-print-
dress-back/. which has be further refined and heavily adopted into many people’s
daily life.
Summarising Versace’s consumer the brand attracts those who value individuality
and self-expression with bold designs that have an appreciation for art and heritage
creating timeless pieces for those who value the brands legacy, with a sustainability
focus attracting gen Z consumers the brand presents values that align with the
generation that lives in a constant state of uncertainty hit by a wave of back to back
hardships such as the 2008 financial crash, the covid pandemic and currently the
financial burden of inflation many may struggle to access or feel as if they could be
a part of the luxury lifestyle with “Gen Z want to do better but don’t always feel like
they can afford to” WGSN Login (n.d.) www.wgsn.com. [Online] https://www.wgsn.
com/insight/article/6508871b5d4ebf0aa0353993#page1. trough being exposed to
this volatile nature the generation have turned to forms of short term gratification
with 73% of gen Z stating that they would rather have a better quality of life then
extra money in the bank Fortune.(2023) https://fortune.com/2023/06/27/gen-zers-
turning-to-radical-rest-delusional-thinking-self-indulgence-late-stage-capitalism-
molly-barth/., showing how the younger generation have adopted a ‘ride and die’
mentality prioritising themselves with a desire for escapism, entertainment and a
feel of control as well as a strong duty of care for the environment the demographic
feel more confident in purchasing long lasting goods that are ethically sourced and
sustainably made ultimately aligning with the brands values and mission.