Donatella Verasace insists the MeToo movement doesn’t mean women have to "become unsexy".
The 63-year-old designer thinks female empowerment involves showing "femininity" and people looking their best, and she believes sexiness is an "attitude" rather than being connected to sex.
She told The times newspaper: "To be empowered is to look your best, to show your femininity. Sexy is an attitude. It doesn’t have to be about sex. It can mean, ‘Look at me, I have something to say.’ Female empowerment is not someone in a pair of jeans and no make-up. What are you supposed to do because of #MeToo, become unsexy?"
Donatella is fascinated by social media and believes it has helped bring about a "revolution" for her Versace label as its so much easier to reach out and appeal to young people.
She said: "It’s a complete revolution. Now you have direct contact with a younger generation. You can listen to different people from all over the world, and it makes it easier to understand that you need to change. That’s when I began to push it a little bit. It was these conversations on the internet which changed what I was doing completely. The internet is an instrument that lets you, er, be in tune."
The designer took the helm of Versace after her brother, Gianni Versace, was shot and killed in 1997 and she admitted it’s taken her until now to feel comfortable with her position and step out of the shadow of her sibling.
She said: "For a long time I had this mental block. An iconic brand with a heritage is a good thing, but it can also be bad. I was so respectful that I was afraid…
"I made a lot of mistakes [in the past]. I finally began to feel more free, to show myself, to say, ‘Take it or leave it, this is me.’ "
Donatella Versace: Empowerment doesn’t stop sexiness
