Donatella Versace wants to dress Queen Elizabeth in leather. The fashion designer would love to work with the 86-year-old British monarch by updating her look and giving her something she's never seen in.

"If I could dress anyone I'd like to dress the queen - she can handle anything. I'd put her in black - she never wears black - and add a little leather, maybe. A little rock 'n' roll," she said.

Donatella - who took over the Versace fashion empire after brother Gianni was murdered in 1997 - also revealed how she uses fashion to hide behind any problems.

"Fashion is a weapon that you can use when you need it. I think my own look makes people think I'm tough but when they get to know me I'm very different. It's like armor that was useful to me in the first years after Gianni's death. It was difficult to live that pain in public - and to be compared to him when he was the genius and I was only ever the accessory. It was hard to hear people constantly say 'will she make it?' I don't mean to sound like a martyr - just to make the point that I used my personal image to hide all these emotions," she said, speaking at Oxford University.