Versace (Capri Holdings) vs Gucci

Gianni Versace founded the house in Milan with a vision that was the exact opposite of the minimal, understated fashion of the time. Versace embraced vibrant colors, bold prints, Greek-inspired motifs (like the Medusa head), and daring cuts. The brand instantly became the symbol of high-octane glamour, dressing the world’s biggest stars and defining the look of the 1980s and 90s supermodel era.

The brand suffered a massive, existential shock following the assassination of Gianni Versace in 1997. His sister, Donatella Versace, took over the creative direction, a role she successfully maintained for decades. She navigated the brand through a difficult period, preserving Gianni’s legacy while evolving the house into a modern, global retail entity.

Versace was acquired by the American luxury group Capri Holdings (which also owns Michael Kors). The goal was to provide Versace with the necessary corporate, retail, and supply-chain infrastructure to compete with the massive European conglomerates like LVMH and Kering. This acquisition allowed the brand to accelerate its global expansion and deepen its reach into lucrative Asian markets.

Under Capri’s ownership, Versace has been meticulously repositioned to sit firmly at the top of the luxury hierarchy. The focus shifted back to ultra-high-end fashion and exclusive accessories. By reducing its footprint in lower-tier retail and focusing on its core "house codes"—Medusa hardware, safety pins, and bold prints—the company has managed to reclaim its status as a top-tier global luxury player.

By mid-2026, Versace stands as the jewel in the Capri Holdings crown. It continues to be the primary leader in the "maximalist" luxury segment, maintaining its unique ability to combine raw, Italian sex appeal with sophisticated, high-end tailoring. The brand remains a dominant cultural force, consistently delivering the high-impact designs that have defined its name for nearly half a century.

Guccio Gucci was born in Florence in 1881 and worked as a lift operator and porter at the Savoy Hotel in London as a young man. He observed wealthy guests arriving with exquisite leather luggage and decided to make something similar. He returned to Florence and opened a leather goods shop in 1921, drawing on the Florentine tradition of fine leather craftsmanship. The GG monogram, the horsebit loafer, and the green-red-green stripe were all introduced in the 1950s and remain central to the brand today.

Grace Kelly was photographed using a Gucci bag to hide her pregnancy from photographers in 1956. Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, and Peter Sellers were all photographed with Gucci products. The brand became synonymous with Italian glamour and Hollywood sophistication. Gucci opened stores in New York, Beverly Hills, and Tokyo in the 1960s, becoming one of the first European luxury brands to establish a global retail presence.

Guccio Gucci's sons and grandsons spent decades fighting each other for control of the company in disputes that combined Italian family drama with corporate dysfunction at operatic scale. By the 1980s, Gucci products had been so widely licensed — to luggage, watches, cigarette lighters, even toilet paper — that the brand had lost all prestige. A Gucci logo appeared on approximately 22,000 products. The family had taken one of the world's most distinctive luxury brands and turned it into a synonym for the cheap and ubiquitous.

Tom Ford joined Gucci as creative director in 1990 and, working with CEO Domenico De Sole, transformed the brand. He eliminated the licensing agreements, reduced the product range, and redesigned Gucci's aesthetic from the ground up. His 1995 collection — featuring satin hipsters, velvet suits, and provocative sexuality — was credited with saving the brand. Gucci's revenues quadrupled in three years. On March 27, 1995, while Ford was rebuilding the brand, Maurizio Gucci — the last family member to control the company — was shot dead on the steps of his Milan office. His ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani had hired a hitman. When asked why she hadn't killed him herself, she reportedly said: "I didn't want to get my hands dirty." She was convicted and sentenced to 29 years; released in 2016. The case was dramatised in Ridley Scott's 2021 film "House of Gucci," starring Lady Gaga.

Gucci's revenues peaked at approximately €10 billion in 2022 under creative director Alessandro Michele, whose maximalist maximalism had defined the brand's decade-long renaissance. Michele departed in 2022. His successor Sabato De Sarno debuted in 2023 with a quieter, more restrained aesthetic that divided observers. Parent company Kering reported Gucci revenue declines through 2024 and into 2025, as the luxury slowdown hit hard and De Sarno's reset took time to gain traction. The brand that had been saved twice — once from the family, once from irrelevance — was in the early stages of its third reinvention.