Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana, is an Italian luxury fashion house.

The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €750 million.

Brands

Dolce&Gabbana

Dolce&Gabbana (spelled without spaces, unlike the name of the company) specializes in luxury items influenced more by designers and is more formal and 'timeless', responding to long-term trends rather than seasonal changes. It also sells sunglasses and corrective eyewear, purses, and watches. In April 2009 they launched their make-up range, unveiled at Selfridges, London by Scarlett Johansson. In February 2010, it was announced that American singer Madonna would design a collection of sunglasses set to be released in May of that year. They also have a set of fragrances for men and women.

D&G

D&G is a slightly more casual line that follows an urban inspiration and attempts to set trends rather than follow them. It is the younger, more flamboyant line of the brand. Unlike Dolce&Gabbana, D&G sells watches as well as clothing. D&G have been voted the UK's best luxury brand. In July 2009 D&G signed a lucrative deal with singer Alexandra Burke which will see her model their fashion lines in her music videos and in promotions.

Boutiques U.S. stores and locations

There are six freestanding Dolce & Gabbana boutiques in the United States in:

New York City, New York

Beverly Hills, California

Las Vegas, Nevada

Bal Harbour Shops in Bal Harbour, Florida

The Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, New Jersey

Wilkesboro, North Carolina

Dolce & Gabbana also has kiosks in several department stores, including Bergdorf Goodman, Lord and Taylor, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, and plans to expand into the American cities of Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.

Controversy,Advertising

Dolce & Gabbana was publicly criticized by Britain's advertising watchdog Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in January 2007, for an advertising campaign showing models brandishing knives.

Following complaints from consumers' groups in February 2007, Dolce & Gabbana pulled an advertisement in Madrid, Spain and Paris, France that showed a man holding a woman to the ground by her wrists while a group of men look on. Spain's Labour and Social Affairs Ministry branded the campaign as illegal and humiliating to women, saying the woman's body position had no relation to the products Dolce & Gabbana were trying to sell. Italian publications followed suit, banning the ad.

Dolce & Gabbana made the "DG" logo become an iconic symbol, but they were never able to get the matching internet address DG.com. In fact, DG.com is one of the oldest Internet domains and was already registered in 1986 by the computer company Data General, now defunct. As if it was a parody DG.com was purchased in June 2010 by the US Variety Store chain Dollar General which uses a different DG logo to sell products.

Alleged tax evasion

In May 2009, the Italian government charged Dolce & Gabbana with tax evasion for having moved assets for about 249 million euro to tax haven Luxembourg in the 2004-2006 period.