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 The
Label: Their first collection launched to international
acclaim in 1986, and it wasn't long before knitwear, beachwear,
lingerie, and accessories were added. They have two lines
of clothing Dolce & Gabbana and D&G (a younger,
more informal line). Earning remarkable financial success
(despite the prevalence of fraudulent D&G merchandise),
the duo even crossed over into the music world, recording
a techno single in 1996 with the words "D&G is love."
The Look: Dolce & Gabbana’s aesthetic
is anything but coy: They will gleefully squeeze as much
excess as is humanly possible into each showstopping piece—whether
a jacket, dress, or suit. “Dolce & Gabbana aren’t
subtle,” says Andrew Bolton, associate curator at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
“They design blatant statements. Yet they also have
a huge sense of irony and whimsy. The spirit of their
work is Jean Paul Gaultier.” Dolce & Gabbana’s
way with a corset has become emblematic of their love
of va-va-voom dressing—and their awesome tailoring
talents. British fashion writer Lisa Armstrong once commented,
“Many of the fluttery-as-a-breeze little chiffon
nothings come with awesome internal structural engineering.
If you wanted, you could see it all as an apt reading
of current femininity.” Even their business suits
achieve an erotic frisson, courtesy of Domenico’s
tailoring skills.— excepted from Mark Holgate's
"A Sicilian Thing"
The characteristically Italian aesthetic of Dolce & Gabbana—every
collection would look at home on the set of a Fellini
movie—has made it ubiquitous in the world of celebrity
with Isabella Rossellini and Nicole Kidman being lead
purveyors of its style. Richly colored animal prints,
underwear-as-outerwear, pinstripe suits, and plenty of
black are all configured in a provocative way, making
D&G an obvious choice to create the costumes for Madonna's
1993 Girlie Show.
The Designers: Known primarily for their devastatingly
sexy fetishistic designs, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana
first met in Milan in 1980 when working as assistants
in an atelier. Dolce, who studied fashion design and worked
for his family's small clothing factory, grew up in a
small Sicilian village, while Gabbana, a trained graphic
designer, grew up in Milan. They had an immediate creative
connection, and went into business together two years
later.
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