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Donatella conquers her demonsBy CNN's Monita Rajpal  Donatella Versace arrives at Elton John's Oscars night party. QUICKVOTEMORE ART OF LIFEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- Donatella Versace is rarely alone. Photographers, assistants and security accompany her everywhere. Such is the life of one of fashion's iconic figures. It's a life that also keeps Versace constantly on the move. Art of Life met up with her in Beverly Hills preparing for the Oscars. It's a time when every designer anxiously waits to see which A-list celebrities will call out their name on the red carpet. "Hollywood is a very inspiring place," Donatella told CNN. "You know the best movies, it's all here. So it is very inspiring for me and I am very grateful people ask me to do clothes for the red carpet. Versace has been associated with actresses for a long time, since Gianni was alive. He was the first one who was involved with this." Gianni Versace was also the one to light the fire under the fashion world as branding and celebrity became synonymous with each other. Donatella, his younger sister, was always his muse. But since Gianni's untimely death in 1997 the inspiration behind the Versace label has also become its driving force. That change also brought with it the pressure to deliver financially, with the company recently losing as much as $300 million a year and accumulating a net debt of more than $140 million. But after almost a decade at the helm, Donatella's Versace has been transformed from a family-run business into one with a newly-installed management structure that has given it an injection of new blood. Has the "troubled fashion house" finally turned the corner? "That change happened because in Italy many companies are family businesses -- it's a very Italian thing," Donatella said. "But I think if you want to reach a certain goal you have to get out of this and create a management to run the company where everyone does what they do best. So of course I have a strategy in my mind and I have a goal I want to reach. That's why we have a management now that is working very well." Donatella says her business goal is to maintain Versace's image as a luxury status symbol for a long time to come. But in addition to focusing on the creative side of the company, she has also had to stop and take stock of her own life. Even though the photographs and poses show a confident woman, this mother of two with her trademark platinum tresses admits that the photos don't show her shyness and fragility. And after years battling addiction, including a well-publicized spell in rehab in 2004, her new hope is for a life that is quieter and more serene. It is a state of mind that she says has also influenced her designs. "It came from a lot of thinking, and stopping for a while and thinking for myself," she explains. "I didn't want to make time before, I didn't have the time. But it's very important sometimes to stop and think about creating a re-birth for yourself. I think everybody should do it, whatever problems you have. It's nice to challenge yourself again in life." That challenge is now to evolve Versace without straying too far from its signature style. Donatella says that means a new sexy look for the brand. "It's very important for a brand to have an identity through the years but it's very important as well to evolve because times change so fast. Everything evolves in the world and you have to be in tune with everything else. "So fashion is one of the first things you have to change fast. Versace has changed in the sense that women today, we want less ornaments, less details but more quality, more beautiful fabrics, sensuality and more sexiness." And sexy is what they got on the Oscars' red carpet with A-listers including Uma Thurman, Hilary Swank, Madonna and Lindsay Lohan wearing Versace's figure-flattering gowns. When Art of Life met up with Donatella again afterwards at her friend Elton John's annual Oscars party, there was a sense of triumph that her company had once again proved its relevance in the world of celebrity and glamour. "I think at this point we are at a very good place," Donatella said. "Unfortunately there was a moment when we were not in a very good place. But we survived and I'm a survivor. I'm a fighter and we are very happy right now." 
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