Donnatella Versace in Interview Magazine

Donatella Versace is interviewed by the fabulous Mr. Lenny Kravitz in this month's issue of Interview, shedding light on her personal style (she began wearing miniskirts and patent-leather boots at age 11, and hasn't stopped), her most treasured clothing item (a black metal-mesh evening dress), and sex.

Donatella says the idea of sex comes to her while she's creating her clothes:

I think that's instinctive, that it comes naturally. I don't think about making sexy clothes. It's just my instinct to make them. [laughs] It comes to me when I'm working. I think sex is part of life, like eating and breathing. Obviously you think of sexy in a different way than you did in the mid- '80s or early '90s. We didn't strive to make sexy clothes then either, because you didn't want to say out loud, 'This is a sexy outfit.' You wanted to express that in either a more innocent way or a more sophisticated way. But you always want to feel sexy. You want people to look at you and say, 'Wow.'

Don't expect Donatella to play into the '80s revival that's currently taking the runways by storm (ahem, Marc Jacobs).

Versace has been there and done that. What's more, she doesn't think it makes sense in the context of today:

I knew that trend was coming. I knew exactly when every designer was going to start doing it. And I couldn't, because I was with Gianni doing the '80s, in the '80s. I have so many pieces in the archives that I could put right out on the runway and they'd be perfect. [laughs] In general, I think, yes, we can look back, but not that much. It's too literal. Like shoulder pads. We belonged to that time -- but for me, it doesn't make sense today. You can play with it for one season, but it's not going to be revolutionary. I think we should move forward, not back. To define the era we live in is very difficult...we define it by music...Fashion is struggling to define itself today.Versace went on to say that music is her greatest influence. And you'll never guess which band she name-checks: Metallica.