To define and understand Domenico Dolce, half of Dolce & Gabbana for 38 years, it is first necessary to overthrow all the clichés. He is Sicilian, born August 13, 1958 in Polizzi Generosa, a village in Madonia in the province of Palermo, but feels more Milanese than Milanese. He is a world-famous designer, but prefers the privacy of a glamorous fashion life of only home and work (until a few years ago, he never went on vacation: the priority was the company, making it grow by investing in every last cent). In building his aesthetic, he was inspired by the codes, the proposals, the landscapes, the obsessions, the craftsmanship of the South, but he translated them into an industrial business model geared towards international growth. Together with Stefano Gabbana, he has built an empire and endured some potentially devastating setbacks, such as a long dispute with a taxman that has now been resolved, and a 2018 controversy over a video accused of racism and sexism that is considered offensive to the Chinese.
Tailoring, first love
Domenico grew up in his father’s atelier where he drew, cut, sewed and observed from an early age. Relationships in the family, especially with the mother, are not always easy. Rosaria’s mother is firm, tough. “When I was six, I worked with her in a department store or in a tailor shop with my father. I was already old as a child. And yet, if I got here today, I owe it to his discipline.” It happens with parents that he quarrels a lot: “I remember once at the table, I was small and burst into tears when they screamed, they were beaten, and from that time they stopped.”
Not yet 20 years old, Domenico arrives in Milan. It was April 15, 1978: “The first thing I did was go see the Duomo.” He has a dream of becoming a stylist (referring to the example of Versace, he abandoned the desire to study architecture, carried away by the modern figure of a fashion designer), and to realize it, in addition to having established himself in Madonnina, he entered Marangoni, where short-sighted teachers try to dissuade him . They are wrong, of course. So much so that, after giving them up, Domenico quickly finds a good job: he is hired in the atelier of Giorgio Correggiari, a brilliant stylist who resists the current and is very critical of the nascent “Made in Italy” system. Experience shapes: Correggiari is a free spirit who teaches his students what not to do in order to create new, non-obvious fashion. And above all, he acts as an unwitting intermediary for a meeting with Stefano Gabbana, who comes to the studio as a graphic designer. Domenico shares an office with him – the tables are facing each other – even if he is initially suspicious and, in order not to be copied by Stefano, erects a barrier of books around him. Distrust soon turns into recognition: they share the same ideas, a desire to succeed and an emerging aesthetic to redefine the Mediterranean style based on a combination of craftsmanship and innovation.
success for two
Strengthened by the partnership, they launch Dolce & Gabbana: thanks to the first three collections and the financial support of Father Domenico, they are noticed; with the fourth break through. The real turning point came in the early 90s with Madonna’s endorsement: in 1991, the singer wore a corset signed by both of them, and in 1993, she called them on to design 1,500 costumes for the Girlie Show tour. The rest is history: 30 years of collections, ready-to-wear, haute couture, jewels, perfumes, accessories, make-up, collaborations, celebrity testimonials and, above all, the creation of an image recognizable all over the world. – the “new” southern woman, strong and sensual, who from time to time was embodied by Marpessa, Monica Belucci, Bianca Balti, Letizia Casta, Deva Kassel. Secret of success? Domenico Dolce never hid it: it’s all about that happy meeting with Stefano in the late 70s: “We complement each other, absolutely complement each other. Two forces of nature, where one does not come, another comes. It is no coincidence that the New Yorker called them “hands” (Domenico) and “eyes” (Stefano).
Between Milan and Sicily
Today, 65-year-old Dolce describes himself as a soul happily divided in two: on the one hand, Sicily, the source of everything, and on the other, Milan, the city of choice and the cradle of the second departure, the dispenser. glory and honors. If he dedicates generous words to the city that welcomed him – “Speed is one of the most beautiful things in Milan, it does not bother me, on the contrary, it has its own special, easy beauty. Milan is working, they say. And it’s said because it’s true, it works and it works well. The culture of efficiency and meritocracy has always prevailed,” he spares no criticism of his beloved Sicily. He’s sorry, as he stated in a recent Espresso interview, that everything is still, or worse, decadent and abandoned. In his city of Polizzi, “there is no more walnut grove, nothing. However, thirty years ago my grandfather lived in the countryside. Now that there is a boom in organic farming, we could create huge new young businesses from an economic point of view. What do you want more organic than Sicily? While he admonishes the Sicilians to get down to business so as not to waste the beauty before their eyes, he does not miss the opportunity to declare his allegiance to his land: “Sicily is a lover to whom I will always return and who will always inspire me.”
Exit
Speaking of lovers, love and friendship, the relationship with Stefano Gabbana was and still is a beautiful love story, a working partnership and a deep family bond. If their love story lasted twenty years, then the professional and friendly union continues as firmly as it began. It is impossible to separate the lives of Dolce and Gabbana, a formidable creative and human duo. Courageously, Domenico and Stefano were among the first to speak to the media, entrusting the story of their couple to Corriere della Sera in September 1999. Twenty-four years ago, the cover of the weekly Sette read: “Dolce and Gabbana talk about their first couple.” It was an instinctive decision, a story about normality that had been silent until now. “I always knew that I was homosexual, but you couldn’t talk to Polizzi, it was difficult. I used to bring home some girlfriends, obviously not very nice. And she, my mother, criticized them and got angry because they were ugly,” Domenico said. In 2004, love ends – both now have new companions – but the connection is strengthened, sealed by mutual gratitude, convincingly expressed by Stefano in a wish entrusted to social networks for Domenico’s 60th birthday: “Without you, I would be nothing.” Words we believe he will repeat to his partner and friend again this year.