A PRoJECT ON

DOLCE AND GABBANA

-PRESENTED BY

DIMPLE.S.PARMAR

FASHION

Fashion, a general term for the style and custom prevalent at a given time, in its most common usage refers to costume or clothing style. The more technical term, costume, has become so linked in the public eye with the term "fashion" that the more general term "costume" has in popular use mostly been relegated to special senses like fancy dress or masquerade wear, while the term "fashion" means clothing generally, and the study of it. This linguistic switch is due to the fashion plates which were produced during the Industrial Revolution, showing the latest designs.[citation needed] For a broad cross-cultural look at clothing and its place in society, refer to the entries for clothing, costume and fabrics. The remainder of this article deals with clothing fashions in the Western world.

MARIE ANTOINETTE A FASHION ICON

Fashion in clothes has allowed wearers to express emotion or solidarity with other people for millennia. Modern Westerners have a wide choice available in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect their personality or likes. When people who have cultural status start to wear new or different clothes a fashion trend may start; people who like or respect them may start to wear clothes of a similar style.

Fashions may vary significantly within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation and geography as well as over time. If, for example, an older person dresses according to the fashion of young people, he or she may look ridiculous in the eyes of both young and older people. The term "fashion victim" refers to someone who slavishly follows the current fashions (implementations of fashion). One can regard the system of sporting various fashions as a fashion language incorporating various fashion statements using a grammar of fashion.

FASHION AND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE

Fashion, by definition, changes constantly. The change may proceed more rapidly than in most other fields of human activity (language, thought, etc). For some, modern fast-paced change in fashion embodies many of the negative aspects of capitalism: it results in waste and encourages people qua consumers to buy things unnecessarily. Others, especially young people, enjoy the diversity that changing fashion can apparently provide, seeing the constant change as a way to satisfy their desire to experience "new" and "interesting" things. Note too though that fashion can change to enforce uniformity, as in the case where so-called Mao suits became the national uniform of Mainland China.

Materially affluent societies can offer a variety of different fashions, in clothes or accessories, to choose from. At the same time there remains an equal or larger range designated (at least currently) 'out of fashion'. (These or similar fashions may cyclically come back 'into fashion' in due course, and remain 'in fashion' again for a while.) Practically every aspect of appearance that can be changed has been changed at some time. In the past, new discoveries and lesser-known parts of the world could provide an impetus to change fashions based on the exotic: Europe in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries, for example, might favour things Turkish at one time, things Chinese at another, and things Japanese at a third. The global village has reduced the options of exotic novelty in more recent times. Fashion houses and their associated fashion designers, as well as highstatus consumers (including celebrities), appear to have some role in determining the rates and directions of fashion change. The continually changing fashions of the West have been generally unparalleled either in antiquity or in the other great civilizations of the world until recent decades. Early Western travellers, whether to Persia, Turkey or China frequently remark on the absence of changes in fashion there, and observers from these other cultures comment on the unseemly pace of Western fashion, which many felt suggested an instability and lack of order in Western culture.

The Japanese Shogun's secretary boasted (not completely accurately) to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a

thousand years. However in Ming China, for example, there is considerable evidence for rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing. Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change (such as in ancient Rome and the medieval Caliphate), but then a long period without major changes followed. This occurred in Moorish Spain from the 8th century, when the famous musician Ziryab introduced sophisticated clothing styles based on seasonal and daily timings from his native Baghdad and his own inspiration to Crdoba, Spain. Similar changes in fashion occurred in the Middle East from the 11th century, following the arrival of the Turks who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and the Far East.

INTRODUCTION

DOLCE
Dolce was born in Polizzi Generosa, a small village near Palermo, Sicily on August 13, 1958. He grew up in fashion, since his father was a tailor. He has always credited this with the reason fashion became his medium of choice for expressing himself, something he felt a deep desire to do from an early age. He studied fashion when he was young and worked in his family's small clothing factory as he was growing up. Deciding to go off and pursue his own career in fashion design, Dolce moved to Milan and got a job there at one of its famous design studios. He knew immediately that he had done the right thing, that he had found the best way to express himself. He told Bruce Weber in Interview magazine, "[Design] was the way I was able to do the things I was dreaming about. As a designer, I see dreams as my job. It's like being a psychologist. I have to capture what people are feeling and translate that into fashion and even provide what people want before they consciously know they want it."

GABBANA
Gabbana, on the other hand, was born in Milan, Italy, on November 14, 1962. Gabbana, unlike his future partner, had never thought about fashion as a child. He grew up away from it and it was not until he was about 15 years old that he became interested in fashion in general for himself, particularly such designers as Fiorucci. Instead, Gabbana studied graphic design at the university because he wanted to go into advertising. He worked in that field for a short time after graduation before he quit, realizing that his heart just was not in it. It was at that time that he turned to fashion. He told Weber in Interview, "I was lucky because a designer took me under hi swing and helped me understand the world of fashion. But it was ultimately Domenico who taught me the most about fashion. As time went on while I was learning about it, I fell in love with itwith designing, with making clothes, with dressing people."

Design duo Domenico Dolce (b.1958, near Palermo, Sicily) and Stefano Gabbana (b.1962, Milan, Italy) are known for making "stars look like stars". Their sexy styles are often to be seen on the likes of Isabella Rossellini, Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman and Madonna, for whom they created the nowfamous "Kylie Minogue" tribute T-shirt. They also created the costumes for Madonna's Girlie Show in 1993, as well as Whitney Houston's 1999 tour. Partners both in life and in business, the pair met while working as assistants in an atelier in Milan. Sharing a love of the baroque, they made their name together in 1985, when the organisers of the Milano Collezioni invited them to take part in a fashion show to launch "New Talents". The following year, they presented their first independent women's ready-to-wear show. Since then, they have introduced menswear and a line of signature fragrances, and opened shops in Italy, Japan, Hong Kong and, in 1999, in London (the London salon, designed by British architect David Chipper field, is testament to the designers' love of mixing their own Mediterranean spirit with English eccentricity).

Originally inspired by eclectic, thrift shop Bohemia, Dolce & Gabbana's deeply coloured, animal prints have been described as "haute hippydom" taking inspiration in particular from Italy's prestigious film history. "When we design it's like a movie," says Domenico Dolce. "We think of a story and we design the clothes to go with it." They claim to be more concerned about creating the best, most flattering clothes than sparking trends, once admitting that they wouldn't mind if their only contribution to fashion history was a black bra.

D&G trademarks include underwear-as-outerwear (such as corsets and bra fastenings), gangster boss pinstripe suits, extravagantly printed and embroidered coats, and black. Meanwhile their fetish-meets-femininity collections are always backed by powerful ad campaigns, like the black-andwhite La Sicilia, featuring model Marpessa photographed by Ferdinando Scianna in 1987.

But fundamentally they are known for making women look, quite simply, devastatingly sexy. "They find their way out of any black dress, any buttoned-up blouse," says Rossellini. Once dubbed the "Gilbert and George of Italian fashion", Dolce and Gabbana gave their fashion interests a musical turn in 1996, by recording their own single, in which they intoned the words "D&G is love" over a techno beat. Newer to the design game than other heavyweight Italian fashion houses such as Versace and Armani, the pair acknowledge that luck has played its part in their phenomenal success. By 1997, their company reported a turnover of 400 million, prompting both designers to announce that they planned to retire by the age of 40 - a promise they happily did not keep. Gabbana's designs are overtly romantic, unashamedly voluptuous, and women the world over love them for it." And their popularity has spread like wildfire. Their clothing has been worn by such famous people as Brian Ferry, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Victoria Beckham, Kylie Minogue, Beyonce Knowles, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie, just to name a few.

Although the pair became lovers when they set up their fashion house in 1985, they only announced their relationship publicly in 2000. They bought the Villa Volpe, a 19th-centurypalazzo in the center of Milan and moved in together. It was a much-talked about house, covered with animal prints, red sofas, and church candles, reflecting the pair's eclectic tastes. In 2003 the pair, who love the glamour and glitz of Hollywood and professedly love it when stars wear their fashions, came out with their second book of photos called Hollywood. In 2004 Dolce and Gabbana opened their first stand-alone store anywhere in the world on Bond Street in London, England, the D&G emporium, which stocked the duos less-expensive designer collection. Not everyone was excited about the fact, though, just as not everyone was a fan of the duo's styles. A writer for the Daily Mail called the Dolce & Gabbana style cheap. "That's not to say D&G clothes can't look goodyou just have to be 18 and have a 12-year-old boy's body to wear them. And of course they're fun, but that's usually because the joke's on the person wearing them. One of D&G's few strengths is that they know who they're appealing to and play on that." Although not all felt that way. Lisa Armstrong for the Times of London said, "Gabbana's knack for creating just the right degree of theatrical gorgeousness stops the average shopper dead in her tracks, while Dolce's eye for cut and detail seduces her in a quieter way, usually after she has tried the clothes on. It's a formidable combination."

After 19 years, in February of 2005 Dolce and Gabbana announced that they had split up their personal relationship. They moved into separate apartments, although they both lived in the same block in Milan, and they have said that they will probably still go on vacation together. The break up, they hastened to assure the world, would not affect their famous label. Richard Edwards in the Evening Standard quoted Dolce as having said that the separation was friendly."On a professional level we are still together. We work together wonderfully well, we have a very strong understanding. We have a very strong love which ties us to each other." Dolce and Gabbana are now fundamentally known for wanting to make women look fantastically sexy. Many of their designs are adapted from the feminist-era, before being glamorised and modernised. They describe their style as sweet and sharp and New Millennium cool. They were once quoted as saying they are mostly concerned with creating the best, most flattering clothes and sparkling trends.

CAREER
By 1982, they had started their first fashion consulting studio and, in 1985, they showed their first womens collection in Milan, winning national acclaim. The collection was mainly homemade, and consisted of instructed designs and complicated systems of fastenings. Inspirational figures for the collection included Italian actresses Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani. Later signature designs would include corset dresses, gangster pinstripes and sexy black suits. However, it was a visit to Sicily at the end of the 1980s which was instrumental in emphasizing their celebration of the curvaceous female form. The designing duo next tried their luck in Japan and signed an agreement with the Kashiyama group. In 1989 they opened their first boutique in Japan and two years later they were presenting their first mens collection. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana rose from obscurity to form a partnership that would have them becoming two of the best known designers Domenico and Gabbana, Stefano Dolce in the fashion world. They have dressed women like Madonna and Nicole Kidman and men like Tom Cruise. People vie to wear their clothing at public events and to revel in the attention such clothing affords them. According to the Dolce & Gabbana website, their clothes are for a certain type of woman:

"The Dolce & Gabbana womanis strong: she likes herself and knows she is liked. A cosmopolitan woman who has toured the world but who doesn't forget her roots." And the same, they say, is true for the man who wears their clothes. "At his ease, he dresses for himself; a little hedonistic, he pays considerable attention to details." The pair met in 1980 when they were both assistants at an atelier in Milan. They started their partnership in 1982, although they still did freelance designing for other companies until they had officially started their own company. Fame and fortune, however, did not come immediately to the pair. They struggled to come to the attention of the fashion scene and did everything in their power to show off their designs to bring that about. "I remember our first show," Dolce reminisced to Susannah Frankel of the Guardian. "We did it in a small apartment in Milan. We organized it ourselves, me and Stefano, without PR, [with] nothing. My sister and my brother were on the door." According to Allison Adato of People, "Using friends as models, they held shows wherever they couldeven in a fast-food restaurant. (The invites looked like hamburgers.) The unconventional approach stirred enough buzz to land them a spot in Milan's1984 fashion week." They made their real world debut at the "New Talent" fashion shows at the Milan collections in October of 1985. They received such acclaim that they launched the Dolce& Gabbana women's collection the very next year, in March of 1986. Not long after, in 1989they opened their first boutique in Japan.

Their style is a mix of traditionally male and female clothing, as they are known to say that fashion and dressing have nothing to do with being straight or gay, but rather that everyone has apart of the opposite sex inside them and that everyone needs to get in touch with that opposite side of their gender to be whole. They point out that it is only modern fashion that has made men and women so different dress-wise. In the 16th century men wore high heels, make-up, and dandy clothes and they were no less masculine than today's men, and women were seen wearing more mainly suit tops and flat shoes. When asked why the two of them collaborated and how it worked, Dolce told Weber in Interview, "We have different tastes, which means that together we tap a combination of desires. Sometimes we might create something that is more Gabbana; sometimes it might be more Dolce. But what we create always has to arrive at some kind of agreement." They both love the style and feel of southern Italy and most of their designs pull heavily on that tradition. "We prefer southern people," Gabbana told Frankel of the Guardian. "They have more passion. What we hate is when people put up a barrier and try and hide what they feel." Whatever their likes or dislikes, it became increasingly apparent that the two designers struck achord with people around the world as their clothing lines became more and more popular. They launched the Dolce & Gabbana men's collection in January of 1990. Then, in that same year they

opened their first boutique in Milan. Also in 1990 the pair won the Woolmark Award. They launched the D&G men's collection in January of 1994 and the D&G women's collection in March of that same year. (D&G is their less expensive line of clothing.) Every year their collections change, although each designer has his favorite pieces that remain in the collection each season. Their concern has never been with what is trendy, but what feels right at that moment. Gabbana was quoted by Frankel in the Guardian as having said, "We sketch everything from new each season, and it doesn't come out the same, but it has the same feeling. This is better in the end because I have one taste. The customer comes to my shop to buy one taste, not another taste, not what is trendy. Sometimes what's in fashion is good for Dolce & Gabbana, sometimes it's not. But it's better to stay a little outside. Not to try and keep up with it all. It's better to stick with your own style, otherwise, ela morte [death]."

The one thing that really made the designers' career, however, was when their clothes came to the attention of pop sensation Madonna. She has become one of the duo's biggest fans, and the feelings are definitely mutual. There are very few people from whom the two designers will take orders and design clothing specifically for, but for Madonna they will drop everything to the 1,500 help. In1993, duo created

costumes for Madonna's world tour, "The Girlie Show." They expected this to bring them into the eyes of fashion critics and aficionados around the world, but they received even more recognition than they expected. Then, for Madonna's Music album, the designers went even further for their favorite pop star; not only did they dress Madonna and her entire ensemble, but they designed and created an entire backdrop for the tour. It was a big success.

PROMOTIONS AND SUCCESS

After gaining an international acclaim in 1986 the brand since then has no looking back. The brand expanded to other luxury sectors as well winning numerous awards in each of them. Some of the awards won by them are: The Woolmark Award for the most innovative Men's collection in the year 1991. "Dolce & Gabbana Parfum" awarded the international prize of the Perfume Academy as the best feminine fragrance of the year in 1993 "Dolce & Gabbana Pour Homme" awarded the international prize of the Perfume Academy for the best masculine fragrance, best packaging and best communication of the year in 1995 In 1996 it won "Oscar des Parfums" Award which was the first time a Frnch Award was given to an Italian fragrance for its "Dolce & Gabbana Pour Homme". In 1996 and 1997, they were the recipients of the "Designer of the Year" award voted by the readers of the British magazine FHM. In 1997, Dolce & Gabbana was awarded the footwear designer of the year by the American magazine "Footwear News". In 1999 they were the recipients of the "Style Award" assigned by Russian Harper's Bazaar. In 2001 they received the "T de Telva" award for best international designers; assigned by the Spanish magazine Telva.

 In 2003, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were honored in New York as Best Designer of the Year at the prestigious GQ Men of the Year Awards for outstanding achievement in men's fashion design. In the same year they were honored in New York at the Fashion Group International's 20th Annual Night of Stars for outstanding achievement in Italian design.

In 2004 they were voted as the "Best International Designers" by the readers of British Elle vote for Elle Style Awards. In 2004 they were recipients of the German 'Leadaward 2004', the most important advertising prize in German speaking countries, assigned for the Fall/Winter 2003/04 advertising campaign. In the same year they received first prize as the best website in eyewear category at Annual Interactive Key award in Milan. In 2004, at the Universit Bocconi in Milan, Dolce & Gabbana received the "PremioRisultati 2004" award for the company's financial performance and best financial statements during the four-year period of 1999-2002, and for its strategic positioning and development prospects. In 2005, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are presented the 'GQ Men of the Year Award' for best international designers by Russian GQ. In 2006, Dolce & Gabbana were presented in Hamburg the Leadaward 2006, considere done of the most prestigious German awards

for the Best Advertising Campaign of the Year ("Swinging London," women's campaign Fall / Winter 2005/06). D&G began achieving long awaited awards in the 1990s and, in 1991, they were awarded the Wollmark Award and Best Fragrance of the Year in 1993. By the end of the 1990s it was reported that their sales were around $500 million per year. They have now become one of the worlds most successful ready-to-wear companies and are considered Hollywoods number one choice of designer.

DIFFERENT PRODUCTS

WOMEN'S

Watches Shoes Necklaces Belts Sandals Bracelets Handbags Earrings Wallets Non-Apparel Accessories Boots Swimwear Dresses Tops

MEN'S
Watches Shoes Belts Necklaces Sandals Men's Jewelry

Wallets Boots

Bracelets Key Chains Non-Apparel Accessories

Backpacks Bags Hats Rings

GIRLS'
Boots Sandals Shoes Tops Bottoms Dresses Jackets

BOYS'
Shoes Tops Boots Jackets Bottoms Sandals Baby One- Pieces Slippers

BRAND AND CLIENT

Dolce & Gabbana has two central lines: Dolce & Gabbana and D &G whose modus-operandi are different from each other. While the former has an exquisite range of luxury items which are more formal and timeless the latter has a flamboyant look and is more casual. The brand also has a separate D&G Junior line which caters to the children wear. The brand has expanded its reach to beach wear, underwear, corrective eyewear, sunglasses, fragrance, bags and many more andhas stores all over the world with its headquarters in Milan, Italy. The company has just published a book called "10 Years of Dolce & Gabbana", illustrating the history of the designer duo through pictures of top fashion photographers. The duo also recently recorded a CD with dance floor music under the D&G label. This Italian pair also has a glitzy-ritzy restaurant to boast about which its interiors made out of gold (not real gold obviously). This Italian brand has a client list which comprises of big names such as Madonna, Monica

FINANCIAL POSITION For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, the Group recorded a consolidated turnover of EUR 1 266.6 million, up 21% over the previous year. At the same time, wholesale sales reached 652.1 million euros a, 55% for the Dolce & Gabbana and 45% for the D & G. On January 31, 2009, the Group employed a total of 3828 people and had a distribution network consisting of direct management 116 (108 at March 31, 2008) stores and 17 factory outlets.

In millions of euros

31/03/2006 31/03/2007 03/31/2008

Consolidated turnover 809.5

1050.9

1266.6

Wholesale Sales

1151.3

1354.5

1652.1

Staff Outlets Direct

2.560 80

3.140 93

3.593 108

GIRL FALL / WINTER 2009/2010

Mood: A melting pot of the western world, which blends different philosophies and different ways of life and creates the most colorful interpretations for a proposal ever closer Collections D & G I love denim: denim declined in all its possibilities, the couture dress shirts with the photo print for a look inspired by the 70s. The dominant colors like blue, available in all its shades of indigo with mustard through the flamed. Baseball: inspired by the baseball world, this theme draws its strength from the full respect of the aesthetic that has always characterized this sport and we find here in the declension of colors, green, gray heather, blue and off white. Forms comfortable for girls and yet perfectly fitting for a casual look that emphasizes comfort. London City is this mixture of cultures, philosophies and styles of life that you breathe when you walk through the streets of London that has inspired these multiple interpretations. A theme straddles two images: an image casual and brit-pop, another more refined, chic, with precious materials such as velvet and brocade. Butterfly inspired fantasies of the 40s, perfectly aligned with the women's collection, which appeals to girls. A patchwork of original colors, materials and manners, to the decidedly British flavor.

Super Model: drawing inspiration from the scenes of parades, the subject interprets the ironic world of supermodel, the subject of games and dreams of little girls. A proposal for luxury and powerful, with animal prints on skin colt, its maxi-shirts worn over leggings, dresses and her twin-sets.

BOYS FALL / WINTER 2009/2010

I love denim: theme heavily dominated by the 70s and whose denim is the undisputed star. The baths range from classic to bold and powerful. Tshirts with photographic prints that recall the advertisements of the era and establish a clear link with the collection D & G adult. Baseball: large photographic prints of players in action define the theme. Figures, scratches and other symbols associated with this sport give dynamism and liveliness to this proposal and define the image. The styles are varied, adapted to all situations, either with vintage formal jackets, more athletes to be worn every day.

London City are real postcards of London and the English flag that served as inspiration to sweat this theme. The fabrics come in denim, velvet and hounds tooth printed chevron. The colors are walking on the side of gray, blue, dark brown and go with lighter colors, including blue sky. Military: a collection for boys, which revolves around the military world in terms of colors, green, beige and brown for the most part, but the lines are definitely more flexible, simple details and though effective, net and sophisticated designs. The fabrics, multiple succeed with ease to restore the various shades of green. Essential: Collection D & G Junior A / W 2009-10 is supplemented by various models of cashmere sweaters and track pants and denim very plush and easy to coordinate the proposals of other topics, both for girls than for boys.

WOMEN'S SPRING / SUMMER 2010

Sexy cowgirl Collection D & G Women's Spring / Summer 2010 re-elaborates the closet cowboys to dress cowgirls Metropolitan combining denim, striped male, chamois leather and perforated with romantic white lace, chiffons and crepes of China, printed Mickey Mouse and Minnie, and wear leather or suede thigh. The cowgirl sexy D & G draws its inspiration from the innate ability to involve young Englishmen denim, street style and more formal clothes with a single careless.

WOMEN FALL / 2009/2010 HIVI

The suggestions of artists such as Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dali and Man Ray, and the artistic movement of the 1920s as a whole have brought the dreams, the absurd, the game and the unthinkable in art, declaring that when it came to creativity, anything was possible. A philosophy that takes the collection Dolce & Gabbana Fall / Winter 2009/2010, giving life to a luxurious fashion, feminine, boldly innovative, playing with new proportions and unusual combinations of fabrics, precious materials and unexpected details. Fabrics and Mikado silk prints with velvet brocade, georgette pleated, wool crepe, linen, leather, cashmere, Flocked Tweed, Astrakhan, goatskin Kidassia and fox. Color Black and white. Gaudy Rose. Grey. Blue. Touches of gold. Style Coats, capes and dresses to oversized shoulders, puffy butterfly or shell without internal structure. Short jackets made of different furs or fur pompoms black closed by buttons jewel of particular forms, such as hands holding roses. The buttons are turquoise jewelry, coral, amethyst, shell and wood. Long coats skin Kidassia garish pink. Short brocade jackets with shoulders and back fox astrakhan worn with georgette pleated skirts. Pilgrims consisting entirely of ruffles and capes gathered shoulders butterfly. Dresses Mikado reticulated white prints, black velvet dresses with prints and abstract designs fur details.

Marilyn Monroe dresses printed silk embossed with garish pink grosgrain knots at the waist with hives or gold leather. Dress with silk ribbons woven. Accessories Platform shoes with suede details Surrealists such as female profiles etched or application of metals and precious stones, watches, sheets, wood and grosgrain ribbons. Bags Miss Sicily "of different sizes suede, ostrich leather quilted leather inserts with pleated leopard print pony. Pockets "Katerine" closure rock crystal jewelry, turquoise, topaz and coral recalling the details of dresses. Pockets Suede surreal impressions of faces. Hair bands made of leather gloves or ribbons and bows. Necklaces Braided Turquoise, coral and shells. Final Voluminous evening gowns, long and short in white Mikado silk, printing Marilyn Monroe opposing male black tuxedos with shoulder butterfly.

MEN FALL / WINTER 2009/2010

Inspiration Oscar Wilde, a symbol of the decadent dandy-esque representation of the eternal elegance willfully eccentric, mingles with the severity of the military inspiration in the collection D & G A / W 2009/2010. The tail-coats and gray makes a dominant taste of the collection. A luxurious range of clothing to wear with a certain nonchalance modern, inspired by the most hedonistic characters of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray. Synonymous with the cult of absolute beauty, the character is once again completely up to date with the highly anticipated film by British director Oliver Parker, whose output is expected in September 2009, at the same time as the release of this collection. The parade D & G reflects the spirit of Oscar Wilde visionary through tailcoats printed and embroidered clothing with blurry images we would really vague dreams.

Fabrics and materials Smooth velvet, brocade prints, wool / silk, various weights, ribbed, cashmere, denim, Astrakhan, flocked brocade. Color Grey, black, burgundy, bottle green, blue accents and antique gold.

Style Aristocratic and dandy, it evokes the English sartorial tradition with many tails-coats featuring real elements or printed. The style is defined by the military rigor and back of neck scarves to wear with a velvet trousers or jeans and a ribbed narrow cut or torn. Velvet and brocade vests, worn under blazers in various smooth velvet, jacquardorprinted. The trench coats in gray or astrakhan with military elements replace the traditional coats. Thick cashmere sweaters with embroidered prints, or even tail-coats lined or feature elements brocade, worn with dress pants. Elegant Jackets in three materials: velvet, satin and cloth tie. Oxford shirts monogrammed blue twill or cotton, to wear during the day under blazers and coats. T-shirts representing Oscar Wilde and the painting "Leonidas at Thermopylae" by Jacques-Louis David.

Final Suits with brocade jackets laminated, worn with white shirts and bow ties closely matching satin and brocade. Gray pants and slippers ceremony in velvet.

Accessories Billy Bag of two different sizes composed of black, military green, brown and two-tone leather. Blue velvet slippers, burgundy, green or printed with embroidery. Shoes with velvet embroidered with golden son or velvet flocked jacquard. Derbys with elasticated lace or leather brushed. Scarves crushed velvet and silk.

INSPIRATION
Dolce & Gabbana soon found they shared a lot of the same idols and influences. Although Stefano comes from Northern Italy, they both claim their principal influence is the Mediterranean. Stefano's admiration stems from watching old Italian movies with Southern Italian actresses like Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida, whose voluptuous bodies are constrained by tight suits, stockings and suspenders. Adoration and glorification of the female physique is the departure point for all of Dolce & Gabbana's female collections - they have been quoted as saying that breasts are the point of departure for all their designs! Domenico's experience of the Mediterranean is first hand. He remembers the tight Sunday-best suits when he went to church, not to mention his own mother, who unconventionally used to dress in men's pinstripes. Even ideas for Dolce & Gabbana's menswear are essentially Italian in origin. They confess to being influenced by the films of the fifties by directors like Roberto Rossellini and Luchino Visconti. They also claim to be inspired by the photos of Enzo Sellerio as well as by Giuseppe Lampedusa's prose.

LATEST NEWS ON DOLCE AND GABBANA

MILAN With Annie Lennox as a vibrant, emotional accompaniment and a front row of celebrities including Morgan Freeman and Peaches Geldof, Dolce & Gabbana celebrated 20 years in menswear. oud, offering multimedia images, a cellphone bar code and a public exhibition over the weekend in Milans mayoral hall. There, touch-screen images and artistically piled logs hit two hot topics: technology and ecology. The most touching scene was a lone tailor, placed beside the mirror that came from the workshop of Mr. Dolces father, taking needle and thread to create a suit. This was a watershed moment for the designers, whose calm and unforced collection had the ease that comes with no longer wanting to push boundaries of taste or striving to be part of a youthful club scene. The collection just like the exhibition showed what has grown from the design duos roots, with a focus on Sicilian tailoring. The Annie Lennox appearance, which she described afterward as from the operatic to quite raw, reached a crescendo as the models in streamlined suits gathered around her.

The rest was soft and hard, meaning tailoring with all the firm edges and definite silhouettes reworked in light and airy fabrics. There was even a Giorgio Armani feel to the beige tonalities and easy three-piece linen suits. For Dolce & Gabbana there is always a sensual, southern Italian vibe, which came through as toned chest muscles viewed through hazy fabrics or leather mesh tops, while tiny shirt collars looked more sexual than clerical. Apart from the houses signature ripped white jeans, casual wear was calm: striped polo shirts or silken bathrobes, always with worn raffia shoes that grounded this collection in reality.

WEBLIOGRAPHY

www.dolceandgabbana.com www.style.com www.armani.com www.wikipedia.com www.answers.com www.ec21.com

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