Biography of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

Date and Place of Birth

Domenico Dolce: September 13, 1958 in Polizzi Generosa a small village near Palermo, Sicily.
Stefano Gabbana: November 14, 1962 in Venice; grew up in Milan.

Career

Dolce is the son of a Sicilian tailor, and grew up working in his father's clothing factory, drawing and sewing. Although he began studying science at university, he soon became bored of the subject, and dropped out to attend art school. Upon graduation, he left Sicily and moved to Milan, in search of fame and fortune.

Gabbana had always been interested in fashion, and studied graphic design at a fashion college, moving away from the fashion industry to become an advertising art director after graduation. His interest in fashion never waned though, and by 1980, he was working for the same Milan-based fashion designer as Dolce.

Sharing many of the same interests and influences, they formed a partnership in 1981, acting as consultants to factories and thread companies. In 1985, they were invited by the organisers of the Milano Collezioni to showcase their designs in the New Talents forum, which led them to present their first independent women's ready-to-wear show the following spring. Using friends as models, their creations won international acclaim, attracting buyers from stores such as Harvey Nichols and Browns.

Since then, they have enlarged their repertoire to include lingerie, beachwear, menswear, accessories, perfume, eyewear, footwear and a ready-to-wear bridal collection. The duo has also recorded a dance music CD under the D&G label. Ten years after their first collection, they were reporting a company turnover of £400 million.

Dolce & Gabbana trademarks include underwear-as-outerwear, extravagantly printed and embroidered coats, pinstripe suits, and black. They are renowned for making women look, quite simply, devastatingly sexy. Their designs are often to be seen on the likes of Isabella Rossellini, Nicole Kidman and Madonna, for whom they created the now-famous "Kylie Minogue" tribute T-shirt.