By Hershey Pascual
During the 1990s, Versace was one of the hottest fashion brands in the world, creating iconic advertising campaigns with original supermodels Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. Iconic musicians like Madonna, Prince and Elton John were ambassadors of the brand and close friends of the designer Gianni Versace. And who could forget red carpet moments; Elizabeth Hurley wore a black Versace dress whilst escorting actor Hugh Grant for the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral, in 1994. The memorable dress was held together by several oversized gold safety pins. To some great extent it was even largely responsible for launching Hurley onto the global media stage. Also in 2000, American recording artist and actress Jennifer Lopez wore an exotic green Versace silk chiffon, tropical leaf and bamboo pattern dress to the 42nd Grammy Awards ceremony. The cut had a very low neckline that exceeded past Lopez’s navel, while the waist of the dress was studded with citrines. It was another extraordinary Versace showstopper. Those who wear Versace pieces have to be somewhat fearless, courageous, bold and daring. As Nicolas Abboud, CEO of Versace Fine Jewellery License, said: “They are natural extroverts and that is what our clothing and our jewellery reflect.”
In 1997, after the sudden death of its founder Gianni Versace, who was gunned down in a shocking murder in Miami, his spirit lived on through his sister Donatella. She stepped into his shoes as artistic director and currently the consolidated Versace brand encompasses Atelier Versace (a couture line), Versace ready-to-wear collections (for men and women), Versus (designed by Donatella Versace and Anthony Vaccarello), Versace Jeans and Versace Fine Jewellery.
I met Nicolas Abboud at a lavish luncheon held at the brand new Palazzo Versace Dubai. The luxurious, Neoclassical masterpiece is an opulent hotel that is said to have cost AED 2.3 billion. Its astounding beauty is reminiscent of a 16th century Italian palace with subtle traces of Arabian architecture. The luncheon was, as expected, a grand event. Tables were set with classic, elegant Versace crockery. Gourmet Italian-style dishes came in abundance; they were beautifully presented and worthy contenders of food porn for social media.
The fairly new CEO, of Versace Fine Jewellery License, stepped into the forefront only 18 months ago. Before this, he lead the acquisition for Swiss luxury jeweller de Grisogono where he was CEO for two years. Prior to this, he was president and chairman at InvestCorp, a private equity fund, in 2007. He contributed to setting up a US $1.2 billion dollar private equity fund dedicated to the Middle East and one of the biggest acquisitions he made was for L’azurde, a large jewellery brand in Saudi Arabia. And in 2003, he was President and CEO at Christofle, the manufacturer of fine silver flatware and home accessories in Paris.
Abboud is a sophisticated man with charm and charisma. For such a busy man, at the event, he maintained natural grace and polite, hospitable manners. He is thought-provoking and emotive. It was obvious to me that he has deep interest, passion and love for his job, and a sense of sensitivity. Not only has he put his heart and soul into the new concept store in Dubai but he has a strong compassionate connection with jewellery. He is a man who has a deep sensitivity for the art and trade of fine jewellery. “Jewellery is something you wear against the skin, so it has a tactile relationship with a woman. Like watches are for men, it takes to the temperature of a woman’s body. You don’t feel the jewellery once it takes on the temperature of a body. It then becomes an extension of the physical body. An extension to seduce or establish a status symbol in society,” he added.
He is half Lebanese and half Swedish. His father is Lebanese and his mother is Swedish. He grew up in France and went to college in Boston, USA. He is a multicultural cocktail of influences particularly because he has lived in 10 different countries. “I’d like to say I am a citizen of the world but really I am more of a foreigner of the world,” he said. Even with his vast international life experience he still expresses a desire to understand and learn new things.
His background is very much centred around strategy and management. However, he has always had a keen eye for design and architecture. His interest in both sides of the spectrum has always been strong that he even did a minor in architecture while completing his BSc in Engineering and an MSc in Engineering Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He also won a scholarship after high school to go to the Sbarro school of design, sponsored by BMW, to design cars. With a keen interest in design and art, he has not only helped with the strategy behind Versace Fine Jewellery but he’s also shown passion in concept design particularly for the new store opening in Dubai Mall, which looks more like an art exhibition rather than an actual jewellery shop. His every move has been under the leadership of Donatella Versace and her team who guides all the projects and works closely with Abboud.
What was it like growing up in different places?
I enjoyed the cultural mix, learning languages and cultures. It allows you to draw parallels from different cultures so you can take the best and apply something you learn from one culture to another culture. It’s really interesting. I would say I feel quite Swedish. That is probably my dominant nationality but the Middle East inside me is present. I enjoy life, gastronomic cuisine and maybe negotiations and commercial behaviour. But I also have a lot of influence from my French upbringing.
How would you describe your jewellery?
Our designs are very different from anything that you have seen in the market. We have reinvented the jewellery and people either love it or they hate it. Most people love it but it’s something that you need to have a strong personality to wear. We took the DNA of the brand and we worked with a great team at Versace to create high jewellery designs.
If you just look at the designs and you will see how it stands out from all the others. Many of the other brands have 100 years of heritage and a history. Therefore, they are confined by their DNA. When they want to do something wild they will use a big stone but the actual design itself remains very classic and very elegant. Versace’s DNA is audacious, powerful, spectacular, fashion-forward and creative. Our designs highlight that we have really thought out of the box. Not anyone can wear Versace jewellery. We made a conscious choice to do that.
Who is your typical consumer?
A consumer who buys an atelier dress. I think Versace is strong in the Middle East because the way people behave, the way people dress or live is very much in line with Versace’s lifestyle. They want objects that are flamboyant and visible.
What was the state of Versace Fine Jewellery when you joined? How has it developed in the year and a half since you’ve been CEO?
I think the jewellery was at its infancy when I arrived. Although, the jewellery has been around for a very long time, in fact. People don’t know but when Gianni Versace launched the brand’s haute couture, very quickly his celebrity friends like Madonna, Prince and Elton John loved his designs. They would say to him that they needed to have jewellery that would match their Versace Atelier clothing. They put pressure on him to make jewellery so Gianni first made jewellery that became gifts for his celebrity friends and family. They were gold chains embellished with diamonds, limited edition and numbered sets and other exquisite collectibles that were made to measure for the lucky few.
Jewellery was for sale much later in 1993. What we did when I arrived was purchase all the vintage pieces from Christies and Sotheby’s. We used what we found to rebuild the heritage of the brand and we relaunched a collection called the Iconic Limited Edition collection. We have this in the store now. They are reproductions of the original pieces that were done by Gianini and Donatella and they were reproduced as limited editions.
I did that to anchor jewellery as part of our heritage and to clearly establish that we have a legitimacy as a brand to be in jewellery. When I arrived the jewellery was at its infancy. We worked with the codes, the Versace Greca lines and the Medusa, in a more traditional historic way. Before it had an approach that was more ready-to-wear and less haute couture. We repositioned it completely into something that is creative, spectacular and avant-garde.
What challenges have you faced?
I haven’t faced any challenges in terms of the design. There is an enormous input from Gianni and Donatella for breaking barriers and pushing the boundaries with the creative side. The challenging part is when you are starting from scratch you want everything immediately. With jewellery it takes time. We have employed nine designers and many are the best designers of Place Vendôme.
It takes five to six months to develop and fine tune designs; then it takes between six months to a year to produce high jewellery. High jewellery pieces can take as much as one thousand and four hundred hours of craftsmanship. We have one piece in the store that has taken one thousand three-hundred and sixty hours of craftsmanship and that is just for the necklace. You cannot compress time. There is a long lead time and the challenge I faced is that everyone, including myself, wants to have what we have in our heads immediately implemented so we see instant results from it. But the reality is that it takes time and time cannot be rushed. Now we are only just getting the first collections. We don’t have all the collections yet and we don’t have all the stock. We won’t have it until January 2016 onwards. Eventually we will have enough critical mass of the new Versace Fine Jewellery, then we will see the results.
Why jewellery, what’s your connection with jewellery?
I love craftsmanship and design and jewellery has incredible wealth and once you touch special, unique stones and gems it’s very easy to fall in love with it and to become fascinated. We just launched a Medusa broach with 56-carat diamonds. It is see through and transparent. The face of the Medusa is a 150-carats Chalcedony stone of the highest quality you can find, and completely hand carved. That stone, just touching it, gives me something. There is emotion in the material and all the materials that we work with is something that I really like.
The number of hours put into craftsmanship is outstanding. That is something I am passionate about. The other reason, from a more commercial point of view, is that jewellery is one of the most attractive and interesting catgory in the luxury sector. In my opinion, this category has the most emotional equity. When a woman buys jewellery it is always a gift. It’s either a gift for herself or a gift for someone. It always marks an important moment in life. It can be a love declaration, a wedding, an anniversary or a birth so it carries that memory and with that an emotional equity. Also, it can be passed on to your children, from one generation to the next. It is something that has a lot of value and remain eternal. Vintage jewellery are collectibles.
How is it working with Donatella? How is she involved with the fine jewellery?
She is involved in everything we do especially from a creative aspect. Everything is validated by her. She gives her input and she is really instrumental to the jewellery. I also have to give the credit to the Versace team. It is not a one man show or a two man show. It really is teamwork.
Donatella is a fantastic person and very impressive. She is a woman of enormous stature and she has a special aura. You feel humble when you are next to her. She is a very strong woman who knows what she wants and in my opinion she is visionary. She sees things and she knows where she wants to take it. She is much more than what I expected before I joined.
If Gianni Versace was around today, do you think the jewellery would be heading in the same direction it is now?
Donatella was working very closely with Gianni. She was his muse. No, I think the company has continued its consistency on the DNA side. Of course, the brand evolves because we define and set new trends. We don’t just live in the past but I expect the brand would look very similar to what it is now if he were still alive.
How were you involved in the store concept?
Versace had a store before in Dubai that was open about six years ago in the same location. Under the guidance of Donatella, we built a store that is very avant-garde, fashion-forward and trendsetting. It is like an art gallery. When you pass the front of the store it just captures your attention and people walk into the store not understanding what it is. They question if it is an art exhibition or an art gallery. We made a very bold choice to do that. Everything is the ultimate in luxury and innovation, reflecting the craftsmanship and traditions of high jewellery combined with the innovation of Versace today.
What special features are there in the new shop?
We have a facade which is like a curved blade completely transparent only in glass which is an invitation to see the store. When you walk into the store there is almost no door. You naturally come in and there is no barrier to enter the store. You are in the store instantly and you enter a journey where there’s a pathway to different acts, like a stage or play, and the final act is the VIP lounge which is a large part of the shop experience.
The curved surface store is decorated with innovative architectural finishing and exclusive pieces from Versace Home. Jewels appear as if floating while Versace’s style permeates the space; VIP guests are invited to enter in the dedicated lounge to discover the most exclusive and limited edition jewellery sets.
How important is the Middle East for the brand? How is business in the region?
It is very important. The first flagship boutique of Versace Fine Jewellery opened in 2009, at The Dubai Mall. In February 2012, Versace decided to partner with Samra International DMCC, a leading jewellery company based in Dubai. This region is important because Dubai Mall is one of the most successful, important malls in the world. It has 65 million visitors a year. It is an incredible success story. So it is an unavoidable landmark. If you want to have a key store then this is the place to be.
Also, we are doing very spectacular designs and high jewellery for high net worth individuals and they want spectacular designs for their weddings and for evening occasions so for those reasons the Middle East is important to us. But we have very strong activity in Paris, Milan and Asia too.
What’s your strongest region for sales?
We are only really starting but the Middle East is strong. We have a second store in Jeddah. We have opened stores in Macau and Hong Kong, so Asia is the second region at the moment. We opened them about four or five months ago.
What are the highlights of your career as CEO?
For me, this is the most exciting adventure because it has been 20 years since I started something from scratch. It is fun to be touching every area from scratch from the store concept, packaging, display, designs and commercial distribution. I have missed the hands-on part especially when you run a company like L’azurde which is almost a company with a US $1 billion dollar turnover with three thousand employees. You are very far from the field; but here I am in the field and it is fun. I think this is the highlight of my career.
Who or what inspires you?
I draw my inspiration from a multitude of forms of art and design, from culinary chefs, renown architects, avant-garde artists and of course great designers like Gianni and Donatella Versace. But above all, I draw my inspiration and drive from the “joie de vivre” and perseverance of my 7 year old daughter, who is born with a cerebral palsy handicap.
Future prospects for 2016/17?
We are planning to open more stores. We are looking actively to find the right locations in Paris, London and Milan, Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing and Shanghai, Qatar and Riyadh. I plan to expand our store network. That is our first priority and we will continue to launch collections. We have almost renewed the whole product offering but we need more collections which are developing.
