Originally inspired by eclectic, thrift shop bohemian style, Dolce & Gabbana’s deeply colored, animal prints have been described as “haute hippy dom” taking inspiration in particular from Italy’s prestigious film history. “When we design it’s like a movie (Domenico),” says Domenico Dolce. “We think of a story and we design the clothes to go with it (Domenico).” 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 (Dolce & Gabbana 2007). Sicily and Sicilian culture is the most important style and identity of Dolce & Gabbana.

D & G trademarks include underwear-as-outerwear (such as corsets and bra fastenings), gangster boss pinstripe suits, and extravagantly printed coats. Meanwhile, their feminine collections are always backed by powerful ad campaigns, like the black-and-white ads featuring model Marpessa photographed by Ferdinando Scianna in 1987 (Dolce & Gabbana). “They find their way out of any black dress, any buttoned-up blouse (Domenico),” says Rossellini. “The first piece of theirs I wore was a white shirt, very chaste, but cut to make my breasts look as if they were bursting out of it (Domenico).”

Once dubbed the “Gilbert and George of Italian fashion”, Dolce & 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 (Dolce & Gabbana 2011). Newer to the design game than other heavyweight Italian fashion houses such as Armani and Versace, 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 did not keep (Domenico).