Donatella Versace is teaching a new generation of designers how to thrive

The Dorchester hotel, in London's Park Lane, is a glittering haven of well-mannered, gilt-edged luxury, currently shielding some of the British capital's most well-heeled guests from the gale-force winds and driving rain outside. That is not to say it is even remotely quiet. It is the afternoon of the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and the world's most famous boy wizard is taking tea in one corner. In another, X Factor teen sensations One Direction pour out of a lift in a suitably high-spirited manner, dressed for the occasion, in all their finery. Take the same elevator to the third floor and the doors open to reveal Paije Richardson, equally glamorously attired. Two floors further up and Katie Waissel, this year's requisite publicity-courting hate figure, all tousled-up hairdo, sequins and lace, is waiting to join her contemporaries before making her way with the rest of them out on to one of the most hotly anticipated red-carpet events of the year.

It seems only apposite, with this in mind, that in the penthouse suite, way above it all in her customary London residence, über-blonde Donatella Versace is sipping Earl Grey ("like a very English lady"), surrounded by preternaturally handsome assistants (male) and wearing a little black dress that, for all its apparent simplicity, makes her diminutive Barbie doll frame appear more pneumatic still. This, after all, is a woman who understands the highs – and indeed lows – of celebrity culture, and indeed its relationship with fashion, better than most. In fact, it would not be unreasonable to claim that, back in the Eighties and Nineties, and with her brother Gianni alongside, Ms Versace paved the way for the star-spangled mania that was soon to come. It is the stuff of fashion folklore that Versace created the supermodel, that glamorous behemoth that transformed the mannequin from passive clothes horse to modern-day idol and then mogul almost overnight. And while Gianni, nine years Donatella's senior, was busily creating show-stopping, high-octane fashion for such heavenly creatures to wear, his little sister, a party animal par excellence, was scouring the world persuading the beautiful and famous to appear in the greatest advertising campaigns in history. Shot by Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber and Irving Penn and featuring everyone from Madonna to Elton John and from Naomi Campbell to Jon Bon Jovi, these were as unashamedly flesh-flaunting and highly coloured as, and even more highly camp than, it is possible to imagine. At that time, Donatella Versace was responsible for brand image, and she did her job extremely well. Today, and since the death of her brother in 1997, it is well known that she is also the company's creative director.