Fashion is a weapon that you can use when you need it. I think my own look makes people think I’m tough but when they get to know me I’m very different. It’s like armour that was useful to me in the first years after Gianni’s death. It was difficult to live that pain in public – and to be compared to him when he was the genius and I was only ever the accessory. It was hard to hear people constantly say ‘will she make it?’ I don’t mean to sound like a martyr – just to make the point that I used my personal image to hide all these emotions. – Donatella Versace, speaking at the Oxford University Union yesterday
