A wind of sweet life Italy is blowing over France from this Friday, January 10. The Dolce & Gabbana brand has taken over the Grand Palais until the end of March with its exhibition From Heart to Hand. A great first for the label of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, which has never presented a single collection in Paris. A dozen rooms present a total of 200 haute couture creations from the house, all to an operatic tune. The opportunity to delve into its history, which began with their very first collection in October 1985, called Real Womento pay tribute to their friends who parade for them at short notice, due to lack of modeling budget. Their very first store opened the following year. Italian cinematographic imagery, heightened and sensual femininity with furs and leopard print dresses, then baroque and ostentatious collections, Sicilian and Sardinian inspirations… the exhibition also highlights the traditional artisanal techniques often used in their collections.
The brand gained momentum in the 2000s. The two creators had the idea of publishing books dedicated to the celebrities in their circle of friends and the 20th anniversary of their brand. Their love story ending in 2004, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, however, continue to work together on their various lines: lingerie and swimwear, launched in 1989, men’s, represented in the Alta Sartoria collections since 1990, the accessories, launched in 1991, the marriage which saw the light of day a year later, the perfumes (the first being Dolce & Gabbana Parfum for women in 1992), glasses, developed from 1995, makeup, which appeared in 2009, and finally children, the latest arrival in 2012 to complete the Alta Moda (Haute Couture) and Alta Gioielleria (jewelry) lines.
Monica Bellucci, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez… Dolce & Gabbana and the stars
Dolce & Gabbana is also the stars. Rihanna, Angelina Jolie, Fergie, Penélope Cruz, Beyoncé, Kylie Minogue and even Kate Middleton have proudly worn outfits from the two designers over the decades. The brand’s favorite muse? Monica Bellucci, a beautiful, curvy Italian with thick hair, who has posed for the brand for thirty years and who published a book in her name last September. “I am honored that Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana thought of writing this book to celebrate our thirty years of friendship. Because it is truly friendship that binds us, a deep affection translated into a working relationship which gave birth to all the images grouped together in this book. confided the actress to Number . Her eldest daughter Deva takes over, in turn named muse of the brand.
Dolce & Gabbana via Bestimage / Dolce & Gabbana via Bestimage
Among the house’s other key faces, we note Madonna, dressed by Dolce & Gabbana for her Girlie Show Tour in 1993 then for his Sticky and Sweet Tour in 2009 and Naomi Campbell, whose appearances on her podiums continue until February 2024. Britney Spears is also one of them, she who hit the headlines at just 19 years old at the MTV VMAs in 2001 by arriving on the red carpet in a navy blue mini-dress in transparent lace signed Dolce & Gabbana, matched with a bra and satin panties visible underneath. Finally, Jennifer Lopez is one of her major clients. The singer posed in 2022 for the brand’s sunglasses line and was the face of an advertising campaign captured on a Venice gondola in 2021.
