An
Italian fashion company formed by
Domenico Dolce and
Stefano Gabbana. Dolce and Gabbana is considered one of the "most innovative" fashion designer teams working the design world today.
Their style is typically marked by, as considered by fashion critics, to be challenging gender roles, as well as blending chastity and seduction. An often cited example of this stems from their double-breasted pin-striped suit, typcially considerd a very masculine apparel item. However, D&G's version of it features the back of the vest in panties like black lace. Much of their inspiration comes from the Italian school of neo-realism film-making, as has been statated by the pair in several occasions.
Domenico Dolce was born September 13, 1958, in Polizzi Generosa, a small village near Palermo, Sicily, and Stefano Gabbana was born November 14, 1962, in Venice. Dolce studied fashion design in Sicily and worked in his family's small clothing factory. But Gabbana had no fashion education; he had studied graphic design.
The pair met in 1980, and started their own business in 1982. Throughout much of the mid-1980s, the pair did freelance design work for other designers, but their first collection in 1986 was greeted with much acclaim. Their first boutique was opened in 1989, and their first women's boutique was opened in 1990, along with their launch of their first full men's collection.