Donatella Versace has hit out Giorgio Armani for disrespecting her late brother Gianni Versace.

The 59-year-old fashion mogul is unhappy with Giorgio, 80, for making comments in an interview in which he claimed Gianni referred to his models as ''sl*ts'' during a conversation they had with each other.

In the piece in The Sunday Times Magazine, Giorgio said: ''He (Gianni) was looking at the models, and he said to me, 'I dress sl*ts. You dress church ladies.' ''

Donatella has now defended her brother - who was tragically shot dead in 1997 at the age of 50 - and has urged Gianni to stop discussing her sibling.

According to the New York Post newspaper, she said: ''I find it extremely rude and tasteless that Mr. Armani has once again put words into my brother's mouth, especially because he is sadly no longer with us to reply ... This is the second time he claims this was said. The first was immediately after his death, and he apologised to me. When my brother spoke about fashion, the only word that ever came from his mouth was glamour. What should be said about my brother is: May Gianni Versace rest in peace.''