Domenico Dolce was born in Polizzi Generosa (near Palermo, Sicily) on 13 September 1958. His family owned a small clothing business, where Domenico worked from childhood. Stefano Gabbana was born in Milan on 14 November 1962. He studied graphics but soon turned to fashion. After a brief period working as assistant designers, they founded the Dolce & Gabbana label, which had its first runway show as part of the New Talent group in Milan in 1985, upon the invitation of Italian fashion promoter Beppe Modenese.

Dolce and Gabbana’s First Collection In 1986 they produced their first collection, called “Real Women.” In 1987 they launched their knitwear line and in 1989 their beachwear and lingerie lines. Beginning in 1988 they produced their ready-to-wear line in Domenico Dolce’s family-owned atelier, located in Legnano, Milan. The first Dolce & Gabbana men’s collection appeared in 1990. In 1994 they launched the D&G label, inspired by street style and a more youthful look. The clothes were produced and distributed by Ittierre. Slowly, the pair launched other product lines, including knitwear and accessories, and gained notoriety particularly for their sensual dresses and menswear, which won them the 1991 Woolmark Prize. In the early 1990s, pop star Madonna selected them as her costume designers for her “Girlie” world tour and wore one of their jewel-encrusted corsets to the Cannes Film Festival. Throughout the ‘90s, the duo were famed for their overtly feminine, colourful garments, which stood in stark contrast to the wave of minimalism that was sweeping across fashion at the time. For several seasons’ campaigns and runway shows, the pair have cast ordinary men and women, typically from their native Italy. They have designed for everyone from AC Milan to Motorola and have also co-authored a dozen or so books detailing their collections and legacy.

In June 2013, Dolce and Gabbana were charged and convicted of tax evasion, however the duo successfully appealed to overturn their conviction and were pronounced innocent by the Italian Supreme Court of Justice in October 2014. “We have always been honest, and we are extremely proud of this recognition by the Italian Court of Justice. Viva l’Italia,” said the pair in a statement at the time. In late 2018, the duo came under media fire for when the brand posted a marketing campaign featuring an Italian model eating Italian food with chopsticks, that was deemed derogatory to Chinese culture. Following the outrage, Gabbana was ousted online for a racist feud between him and another Instagram user. With Chinese consumers making up a sizeable chunk of the luxury market, the brand lost a large part of its Asian-Pacific market due to boycotts. By November, the brand cancelled its Shanghai fashion show. the first quarter of 2019, social media engagement for the brand fell by 98 percent compared to the same time last year. In 2019, the brand also announced it would extend its style sizes to 14-18, as of its pre-fall 2019 collection. Following its international faux pas that same year, the brand staged it’s Alta Moda fashion show in the Temple of Concordia, a UNESCO World Heritage site turned into its own ancient Greece-inspired runway.

Although their personal relationship ended in 2005, as The New Yorker puts it, “Gabbana is the eyes for Dolce’s hands,” and they have continued to work together on an enduring empire, crafted from scratch, by their love of their homeland and the scope of their romantic imagination.