Versace Inks Home License With Lifestyle Design Group

MILAN — Versace has plans to further expand its home line with a new licensing agreement with Lifestyle Design Group.

The Italian home design division of the American company Haworth Group will produce and distribute the Versace Home furniture, which was previously manufactured internally. The first collection under the agreement will bow in 2021.

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Versace Home will be sold and distributed through a new global network that will include a showroom located in Milan’s central Via Durini, a furniture hub in the city.

Versace was one of the first fashion houses to launch home interiors in 1992, first focused on textiles. Porcelain tableware collections followed, inspired by the brand’s distinctive patterns, such as the Baroque themes, the Greek frieze, the signature Medusa head and some of the prints from the fashion collections, such as the Jungle print — forever associated with Jennifer Lopez and her 2000 Grammy Awards dress.

The collection has grown to include clothing for the bedroom and bathroom, furniture, wallpaper and accessories including vases, candles and even sculptures. The agreement with Lifestyle Design pertains only to Versace’s furniture. The brand’s textiles and accessories will continue to be produced internally, while Rosenthal remains its ceramics licensee. As Creation and Gardenia will continue to produce Versace’s wallpaper and floor tiles, respectively.

“As a designer, the idea that Lifestyle Design will be making our furniture is very exciting,” said Donatella Versace. “When Versace Home launched, we wanted everyone to be able to experience the lifestyle of Versace, not just through our fashion, but also in their homes. We will now be able to be more ambitious and grow the collection even further thanks to the expertise of our new partners, and this makes me very excited for the future ahead of us.”

In fact, Versace was a pioneer in luxury fashion-branded hotels as it opened the first Palazzo Versace Gold Coast on Australia’s exclusive Gold Coast tourist strip of Queensland in 2000, in collaboration with Australian property developer Sunland Group Ltd. In 2015, its second hotel project opened in Dubai. The Palazzo Versace Hotel was realized with Dubai-based developer Enshaa Group and included 215 rooms, of which 65 were suites. Ceilings were detailed by hand with gold décor and a marble mosaic floor in a Baroque motif stood out in the 10,800-square-foot lobby. The luxury complex also included 169 residences.

Jonathan Akeroyd, Versace’s chief executive officer, underscored the storied “strong relevance” of the home line for the brand, and emphasized how Lifestyle Design’s “craftsmanship and design excellence, brings the very best expertise in furniture-making to Versace, which will enable us to further expand the business in a dynamic and modern way.”

Dario Rinero, Group ceo of Lifestyle Design, said the “partnership marks a very important milestone for Lifestyle Design that we had started a long time ago. I am sure that values such as quality, passion for design and a sense of uniqueness will allow us to create strong synergies working together to develop the great potential of this partnership.”

In July, Lifestyle Design (Poltrona Frau Group) together with Haworth Inc. acquired the storied Italian furniture and interiors design company Luxury Living Group. 

The transaction was made through the Michigan-based company’s Italian subsidiary, Haworth Italy Holding, while Luxury Living Group operates under the Lifestyle Design Division, with brands including Cappellini, Cassina, Ceccotti, Dzine, Karakter, Janus et Cie, Luminaire and Poltrona Frau.

Over the last 30 years, Luxury Living has produced and distributed high-end designs under licensing agreements with the likes of Fendi Casa, Bentley Home, Trussardi Casa and Bugatti Home, as well as its own Luxury Living brand.