Domenico Dolce

Domenico Mario Assunto Dolce (; born 13 August 1958) is an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur who co-founded the luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana (D&G). Since the establishment of D&G in 1985, Dolce has gained recognition as a prominent fashion designer and an influential figure in the fashion industry.

Early life and education Dolce was born in Polizzi Generosa, in the province of Palermo, Sicily in 1958. In 1980, he met Stefano Gabbana. At the time, they were both working for designer Giorgio Correggiari.

By 1982, founded a fashion consulting studio and two years later, they launched Dolce & Gabbana S.p.A. (D&G). Additionally, it was Dolce's idea to engage photographer Ferdinando Scianna, a decision that enhanced D&G's brand presence among the Italian audience.

D&G's initial women's collection was presented in Milan in 1985. This collection featured handcrafted designs with intricate fastening systems and drew inspiration from Italian actresses such as Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani. The first D&G store opened in Milan at 7 Via Santa Cecilia in 1987.

D&G continued to expand; they partnered with the Kashiyama group, establishing their first boutique in Tokyo, Japan in 1989 and introducing a men's collection in 1991. From 1995 to 2004, Marcolin allowed Dolce & Gabbana to produce and distribute its eyewear and sunglasses.

Further additions to the D&G line included ties, belts, handbags, sunglasses, watches, and footwear. By 2003, the company had overtaken Armani, Gucci, Prada, and Versace in the domestic market in Italy. In 2009, approximately 25 years after D&G's establishment, the company operated 113 stores and 21 factory outlets, employing a staff of 3,500 individuals and achieving an annual turnover exceeding €1 billion.

Beginning in 2023, ventured into the real estate business, announcing two residential projects, one in Miami, USA and another in Marabella, Spain. They are also planning to build a hotel in Maldives. In June of that year, the brand announced a collaboration with Havaianas to create a sandal collection featuring signature prints like zebra, leopard, majolica-glazed pottery, and Sicilian cart patterns, crafted in a luxurious printed velvet finish.

Personal life

publicly disclosed their relationship in 1999. They resided in a villa in Milan and owned multiple properties on the French Riviera, as well as a villa in Portofino. While their romantic relationship ended in 2004, they maintain a professional collaboration at D&G.

As of April 2024, Dolce has a net worth of approximately US$2.1 billion, according to Forbes. As part of their involvement, they created a special doll that was sold at an auction to raise funds for the event. Previously, they produced mini versions of their popular designs for a UNICEF charity project. Dolce & Gabbana provided financial support for a study coordinated by Prof. Alberto Mantovani, Scientific Director of Humanitas and emeritus professor of Humanitas University which aims to form the basis for developing diagnostic tools, such as biomarkers of the severity of the pathology, and therapeutic tools to help battle the strain of coronavirus.

Later in the same year, launched another campaign, the Devotion bag, with a portion of the proceeds dedicated to funding the second phase of research at Humanitas University. The research focused on vaccine development in the fight against COVID-19.

Controversies In 2013, both Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to a 20-month suspended sentence in prison. An Italian court found the pair guilty of failing to declare millions of euros of revenue earned through a D&G subsidiary company, Gado, based in Luxembourg. They denied the charges and appealed the case; in October 2014, they were both cleared of wrongdoing by the appellate court.

In March 2015, Dolce's comments about in vitro fertilization (IVF) sparked a social media storm of criticism. In an interview with Panorama magazine, Dolce said, "I am gay. I cannot have a child. I believe you cannot have everything in life.... You are born from a father and a mother. Or at least that is how it should be. For this reason I am not convinced by what I call children of chemistry, or synthetic children. Uteruses for rent, sperm chosen from a catalogue." British singer-songwriter Elton John, who has children by IVF with his husband David Furnish, called for a boycott of the D&G brand. This sparked a war of words, with Gabbana later calling John a "fascist" and calling for a counter-boycott. He ended up apologizing for his remark.

Honours

have received numerous honors in recognition of their contributions to the fashion and cultural spheres.

The La Fondazione NY, a charity focused on supporting young Italian and American artists, honored Dolce, Gabbana, and film director Baz Luhrmann at its third awards gala at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City in 2014.