Rita Hayworth gave good face, but Madonna gives good body. Over the weekend, Donatella Versace spoke to the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera about her longstanding friendship with the star, who’s the face of the new Versace campaign. As translated by Glamour, her comments included a strong denial that Madonna’s gym-won abs and arms got the Photoshop treatment. “She did not have her abdomen or arms retouched,” said the designer.
The process was also considerably more low-key than you might think, at least according to Versace. “With Lady Gaga [it] was a bit more complicated. She focuses on transformation and charisma … So the final approval of the photo was a melee. But [with] Madonna, absolutely not … I told her: You don’t have to be only sexy. I want you like I know you: a vulnerable person who is afraid, who suffers from loneliness and yet is strong, determined, and fearless. In these photos, she is.” The designer also revealed that the charitable star will be donating her fee from the campaign to the hospital she opened in Malawi.