First it was perfume, then cosmetics. Then it seemed no fashion brand felt complete until it had a hotel. Blumarine was arguably the first fashionista to embrace the idea when Anna Molinari's fashion-manufacturer father opened the Hotel Touring (+39 059 681535; hoteltouringcarpi.it), near Maranello in Italy, in 1959. Its rather stolid, ordinary décor bears little relation to Molinari's flimsy feminine clothes, but she continues to oversee it.
With revered hotels in Milan and Bali, Bvlgari (bulgarihotels.com) is now almost as synonymous with hotels as it is with jewellery and luxurious bathroom products. So it's hardly surprising that Armani and Missoni have been linked with plans for branded hotels. Even Oscar de la Renta (and co-owner Julio Iglesias) has Punta Cana Resort and Club (+1 809 959 2262; puntacana.com) in the Dominican Republic, a 105-acre palm-fringed oasis of luxury and Frette sheets, amid the all-inclusives.
Versace was ahead of the game when it opened Palazzo Versace (+61 7 5509 8000; palazzoversace.com) on Main Beach, Queensland, in 2000. Donatella Versace's uncompromisingly OTT establishment on Australia's Gold Coast dubs itself "a place of Renaissance splendour" and is truly born of the belief that nothing succeeds like excess.
It's a moot point whether the 205 guest rooms can truthfully be called "classically elegant" (the hotel's description): outlandishly glitzy might be nearer the mark. But they're unmistakably Versace, from the gold Greek-key motif on the cornicing and signature Medusa's heads, to the heavily swagged curtains and proliferation of golden brocade.
Aficionados of Versace might also enjoy a night or two at Casa Casuarina (+1 305 672 6604; casacasuarina.com) in Miami, formerly the Versace Mansion on whose steps Gianni was shot dead a decade ago. Now a members' club-cum-über-exclusive hotel, it has 10 fabulous - there is no other word - suites, each sumptuously and differently decorated. A single night in Versace's own oppressively ornate ormolu-encrusted boudoir, in a bed that must be four metres wide, will set you back $4,000.
Just along Ocean Drive from Casa Casuarina, The Pelican (+1 305 673 3373; pelicanhotel.com), a 30-room boutique hotel, claims that it "wonderfully brings to life the Diesel philosophy". Certainly the décor, by Swedish designer Magnus Ehrland, and room names are something to marvel at. "Best Whorehouse" has been tricked out to resemble a trashy bordello: scarlet walls, red-shaded lamps and a queensize bed with an immense upholstered bedhead. "Me Tarzan, You Vain" has a jungle theme and there's fabulous metallic wallpaper in "A Fortune in Aluminium". Overall it's not for the faint-hearted, but there's no denying its fashion credentials and the fact that Cindy Crawford, for one, has checked in.
And it's not just mainstream fashion. In Barcelona, the shoe label Camper has opened Casa Camper (+34 933 426280; camper.com) in the boho El Raval district. It's hip, inexpensive and friendly, but the beds could be softer, the rooms a little lighter, and there could be more furniture (and coat hangers!). But as a reflection of the brand, it's right on message: funky, stylish and just a little eco-conscious.
Perhaps the highest-profile fashion hotel opening of recent times has been Philip Treacy's The G (+353 (0)91 865 200; monogramhotels.ie) in Galway, Ireland.
The 98-room G - it stands for glamour, obviously - is unmistakably a fashion hotel, truly an expression of its creator's art. There aren't any hats as such - "It would be naff to have a hat on a light looking like a hat," Treacy says - but there are witty references to headgear and other fashiony details: above the beds there are sketches of models - Jasmine Guinness, Susie Bick and Jade Parfitt - in Treacy hats by the doyen of fashion illustrators, David Downton.
Perhaps the most obvious fashion detail is that the presidential suite is named in honour of Linda Evangelista. "Its interiors were inspired by her, the most super of the original super models," explains Treacy. Which may explain its €2,500 rack rate. Steep for Galway, though still a lot less than the $10,000 she famously demanded before she would get out of bed.
Read more about Versace in The fall and rise of Versace
