PUTTING ON THE RITZ: After returning to the Paris couture calendar with a small presentation last season — a format many deemed less successful — Donatella Versace will return to the runway for her fall-winter Atelier Versace collection, and she has chosen a venue the fashion house is all too familiar with: The Ritz Paris. Versace will stage two shows at the iconic hotel’s Salon Vendôme on July 1.
The iconic hotel, which closes on July 31 for a major renovation, was the venue for many Atelier Versace shows between 1990 and 2004, including Gianni Versace’s last runway show in 1997. “It is with tremendous emotion that I return to the Ritz where I shared so many special moments with my brother,” Donatella Versace said. “The closing of the Ritz Paris for two years represents the end of an era but also the beginning of a new one, so to be able to show Atelier Versace there one last time will be a memorable milestone.”