Donatella Versace and Revolve Group Announce Joint Venture to Launch New Fashion and Beauty Brand

With a digital reach spanning 3.04 million active shoppers, Los Angeles-based retailer Revolve Group is handing its $1.4 billion commercial infrastructure to one of fashion's most recognizable figures. Donatella Versace, the 71-year-old designer who guided her family's legendary Italian house for nearly three decades, is returning to the creative driver's seat to launch an independent beauty and fashion label.[3][4]

The joint venture, announced on September 21, 2026, pairs Versace's cultural gravity with Revolve's data-driven retail machinery. Slated to debut in 2027, the unnamed brand will begin with tactile, high-gloss beauty products before expanding into apparel. It marks a dramatic second act for Versace, who stepped down as chief creative officer of her namesake house in March 2025 following its acquisition by the Prada Group.[1][3]

The partnership represents a structural shift in how luxury figures build new platforms. Rather than launching a traditional heritage house anchored in physical boutiques, Versace is building a brand specifically engineered for the digital generation's screens and feeds. "I believe creativity should be fearless, inclusive and alive in the world," Versace said in a statement. "This partnership gives me the freedom to speak to that generation in a completely new and personal way, through beauty and fashion."[1][2]

For Revolve, the alliance is the most ambitious step yet in its evolution from a multi-brand e-commerce destination into a brand incubator. The retailer, which reported a 12 percent year-over-year increase in second-quarter net sales to $347.4 million, has spent the last year aggressively expanding its owned-brand portfolio. Recent ventures include a vibrant beauty collaboration with Cardi B and a namesake fashion label fronted by Bella Hadid.

Revolve co-founder and co-CEO Michael Mente described Versace as "one of the defining creative voices of our time," noting that the joint venture provides her vision with an entirely new platform. The business will be fully independent, with Versace serving as chief creative officer to shape the product textures, color palettes, and cultural identity, while Revolve powers the digital commerce, consumer intelligence, and global operations.[1][2]

The initial rollout will target the United States, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East. Revolve's president of brand and partnerships, Raissa Gerona, emphasized that the venture is designed around how younger consumers discover style and connect online. "Donatella has an extraordinary instinct for what the next generation wants and an unmatched ability to connect fashion with culture," Gerona said.[1][2]

The move frees Versace from the archival constraints of the house her late brother Gianni founded. After guiding the Versace brand through decades of shifting celebrity culture and ownership changes—culminating in its December 2025 sale to Prada for an enterprise value of €1.25 billion ($1.5 billion)—she transitioned to a chief brand ambassador role. The creative reins of the heritage house were subsequently passed to Pieter Mulier.[4]

Now, operating entirely outside the traditional ready-to-wear calendar, Versace is adopting a startup mentality backed by massive scale. Revolve's co-CEO Mike Karanikolas noted that combining her creative authority with their technological infrastructure creates an opportunity to "build something from the ground up" for the long term.[1][2][5]

By launching beauty first, the new brand enters a high-margin, highly engaged category that thrives on the social media platforms where Versace already commands a massive following. As the fashion industry watches this unprecedented alignment between European luxury royalty and American digital retail, the upcoming 2027 launch promises to test whether a heritage designer can successfully engineer a brand natively for the group-chat generation.[1]