For many years, the Dolce & Gabbana fashion house held the title of most well-known Italian company worldwide. In contrast, designers built their names by fusing humility and sensuality, helplessness and brazenness, and feminine shapes with menswear components. For over 40 years, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have remained true to these beliefs and have no plans to change them. And even though they entered the fashion industry in various ways, their shared aesthetic values were reflected in a widely popular and luxury brand.
Domenico Dolce
Domenico Dolce was born in a working-class family as the manager of a clothing business in Sicily’s Palermo district in 1958. The youngster was already an apprentice to his father at the age of 6 in the family company. He was an expert at stitching intricate garment components and understood how to make shoes, earning him the moniker “Mozart of sewing” at home. Dolce was required to inherit a business at the age of 18 in line with the family’s strict traditional Sicilian beliefs. However, despite his father’s wishes, the young man enrolled at the university; however, a year later, he left and started attending the school of design.
Stefano Gabbana
The illegitimate son of a well-known Milanese stylist, Stefano Gabbana, experienced a very different life path. The youngster, who was born in Milan in 1962, never needed anything. He visited upscale retailers with a pencil in hand, sketched, and purchased a tonne of clothing since he enjoyed drawing and dressing stylishly. He was not prohibited from doing so by his father.
Acquaintance of two fashion designers
Early in the 1980s, two very different but equally talented young people’s paths collided at one of the Milanese ateliers where both were working as assistants. Nothing about the first collaboration promised success: Dolce and Gabbana could not stand one another. Their disparate backgrounds, upbringings, and levels of financial affluence had a significant impact. But over time, they discovered more intersections.
Both adored the elegance of the films of the era and took inspiration from the works of:
- Fellini;
- Rossellini;
- Gina Lollobrigida;
- Sophie Lauren;
- Visconti.
Dolce and Gabbana made the decision to establish a shared brand whose clothing will be in line with their shared aesthetic standards after realising that they are heading in the same direction.
First Real Woman collection
Fashion designers debuted their first Real Woman collection in 1986 at a Milan cafe, instantly grabbing the city’s presaturated public’s attention. It was differentiated by a novel concept for the 1980s, which made it stand out visibly against the backdrop of the drab 1980s fashion.
Dolce & Gabbana achieved a compromise in their perception of feminine beauty around the year 1990, giving rise to the brand’s instantly identifiable logo. The brand has continued to grow in popularity since that time. How did these two Italians win over their consumers’ hearts? The explanation is straightforward: Every lady feels like a queen wearing Dolce & Gabbana clothing. And this sensation is pricey! Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, two Italian fashion designers, formed the fashion business Dolce&Gabbana.
