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Donatella Versace hails brother as she bows out as creative director

Sister of Gianni who took over Italian label after his murder in 1997 will become chief brand ambassador at Versace

Photograph: Paul Schmulbach/ShutterstockIt was following the murder of Gianni in 1997 – the 50-year-old designer was shot outside his home in Miami Beach – that Donatella, unexpectedly, was propelled into the top job. Although Versace’s status in popular culture rose on Gianni’s watch – he designed Liz Hurley’s safety-pin dress, and choreographed the famous 1991 show which saw supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista lip-syncing to George Michael’s Freedom on the catwalk – it was consolidated by Donatella, who went on to work closely with Madonna and design, among other things, interiors, hotels and Jennifer Lopez’s plunging “jungle” dress worn to the Grammy’s in 2000, which spawned so many search queries for the outfit that Google created what is now Google Images. In the same Thursday statement, John D Idol, the chief executive officer of Capri Holdings, which owns Versace as well as Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, called the decision “part of a thoughtful succession plan”.

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