It’s not just in clothing that fashion designers are ahead of the trends.
Their property portfolios – and interior decorating skills – are pretty remarkable too.
Today we take a look at the enviable real estate owned by some of the world’s top designers.
Versace’s Miami mansion
Gianni Versace’s former mansion, located in Miami, Florida, sold at auction last year for $41.5 million USD. Versace bought Casa Casuarina in 1992 and spent millions on renovations. Tragically, he was shot and killed on the mansion’s front steps in 1997. The property is now set to attract plenty of highflyers through its doors, with the mansion recently reopening as a boutique hotel. Guests can even stay in the master designer’s former bedroom.
Valentino’s French château
This is exactly the level of glamour you would expect of Valentino. Located about half an hour from Paris, the Château de Wideville was built by Louis XIII’s finance minister and was once home to one of Louis XIV’s mistresses. Valentino purchased the 120-acre property in 1998 and had it restored by Henri Samuel, the master of French interior design.
Ralph Lauren’s Manhattan loft
Lauren and wife Ricky (pictured above) bought and renovated their Fifth Avenue apartment in the late 1970s. With his family all grown up, the American designer recently finished another renovation to give the apartment more of a New York loft feel. The rest of his property portfolio is just as impressive: a beach house in Long Island, a ranch in Colorado, a retreat in Jamaica and a mansion in Bedford, New York.
Karl Lagerfeld’s chic Parisian apartment
Chanel’s head designer and creative director was born in Germany but now calls the City of Light home. Don’t expect anything extravagant from his minimalist apartment, located on the Quai Voltaire. “There is no color here, because I am constantly surrounded by color. I prefer to live in a neutral environment,” Lagerfeld says of his Paris abode. No word yet on how Lagerfeld’s beloved cat feels about the minimalist approach with no interesting furniture to climb on. Maybe Choupette’s very own Twitter feed could shed light on her thoughts.
Giorgio Armani’s super yacht
Okay, this one’s not exactly a home – it’s where the fashion mogul lives while on holidays. On board the 213-foot megaboat, Maìn, Giorgio Armani takes high fashion to the high seas. The yacht reportedly took three years to build, cost more than $60 million USD and can cross the Atlantic in 11 days. “What I like about being on a boat is the rhythm and the routines,” Armani once told Harper’s Bazaar. “They remind me of the military. It’s discipline.”
