Founded in 1985 by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the house has returned repeatedly to Sicilian art, dress and craft as design references. From the 1987–88 La Sicilia collection to later work with carretto, majolica and lace, those references take distinct forms in particular collections.
Two founders, one fashion house
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana founded the house in 1985 and remain central to the creative direction described by the company. The group says it directly develops and distributes clothing, leather goods, shoes, jewellery, watches and beauty, while eyewear and other lifestyle lines are handled by licensing partners.1
Sicily in the early collections
Sicily entered the designers’ work early. Dolce&Gabbana recalls its Fall/Winter 1987–88 collection La Sicilia, whose spare black looks drew on the dress of southern Italian peasant women. The island is also Domenico Dolce’s birthplace.2
Folk craft as a design vocabulary
The house draws on Sicilian folk traditions: painted carts, ceramics and pupi marionettes, along with pompoms, woven straw, mirror applications and passementerie. In selected collections, these details carry the region’s craft vocabulary into clothing and accessories.2
The essentials
- Founded
- 1985, Milan
- Headquarters
- Milan, Italy
- Official site
- dolcegabbana.com
