History of Dolce and Gabbana

 Business and life partners, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana began creating fashion after working as assistants in a Milanese atelier shop. They set up their own shop with $1,000 and worked as freelance designers for other fashion houses. In 1985, the duo was invited to be a part of the Milano Collezioni as "new talents." The pair instantly made an impact with their overly sexual designs. A year later, Dolce and Gabbana debuted their first women's ready-to-wear line, called the "Real Women" show. The pair's designs were inspired by bohemian style, deep colors, and animal prints, dubbed by some as "haute hippydom." The duo opened its first showroom in 1987 with the financial backing of Frederico's father. Soon, the company was a rising fashion star with a reputation or designing for many Hollywood stars. In 1988, Dolce and Gabbana went international and signed a distribution deal with Onward Kashiyama in Japan, with a franchise store opened in Tokyo the following year.

 In 1989, additions included bathing suits and the Intimo line of lingerie, while a men's wear collection was born in 1990. That same year, the company opened its first showroom in New City with sales of over $20 million. The early 1990s saw the release of more products such as ties, perfume, underwear and footwear. Due to the success of their original line, Dolce and Gabbana added a secondary line, D&G, which boosted their revenue to nearly $125 million. They then went on to add large scale signature boutiques, and by 1997, contributed 13 more boutiques to their existing franchise stores.

 The Dolce and Gabbana trademarks of today include extravagantly printed coats, pinstripe women's suits, and "fetish-meets-femininity" collections. The pair is also known for their controversial ad campaigns, most notably the black and white La Sicilia campaign, photographed by Ferdinando Scianna. Since their original line of women's ready-to-wear, Dolce and Gabbana have added menswear and a line of fragrances as well as opened stores in Italy, London, Japan, and Hong Kong. In addition, Dolce and Gabbana has racked up a slew of celebrity devotees such as Isabella Rossellini, Demi Moore and Nicole Kidman. The pair even created the costumes for Madonna's 1993 Girlie Show tour as well as Whitney Houston's 1999 tour.

 Still led by its founders, Dolce and Gabbana has expanded its line to include shoes, lingerie, accessories, bathing suits, fragrance, men's clothing and even a children's line. Though they are relatively new to design, the pair has demonstrated amazing business acumen by buying control of most of its production as well as opening its own 60 retail sites. The pair has been a continually successful and respected fashion house, making a profit of $400 million by 1997. Dolce and Gabbana are known for their sexy, daring style that appeals to women of all ages, shapes and nationalities. To quote fan Isabella Rossellini, "They find their way out of any black dress, any buttoned-up blouse."