Buying Dolce & Gabbana: What you need to know

Arguably on of the most powerful collaborative design partnerships of all time, Dolce & Gabbana dress some of the world's most famous people, including Madonna, the Beckhams, Kylie Minogue, Scarlett Johansen and Sophia Loren.  

From the outset, Dolce and Gabbana brought different talents to their design team. Dolce studied fashion design in Sicily and worked for a time in his parents' businesses. Gabanna, meanwhile, had trained as a graphic artist and gained some fashion experience as an assistant to an atelier, where the two first met in 1980.  

They opened their first fashion consulting studio in 1982 with as little as $1000, but their big break came in October 1985, when they were among the select few to be invited to show their designs during the "New Talent" section of the Milano Collezioni. It was in the preparations for that show that they would lay the foundations of the G&B look, and their sexy designs gained them immediate recognition.   

Their original Milan show consisted of clothes with corsets and complex fastening systems, and all were homemade. Later, after a trip back to Sicily, they became inspired to design clothes that celebrated the natural curves of women. They use a lot of blacks and lingerie, with their sexy black suits and pin stripes becoming their signature pieces. They are now known most widely for wanting to make women look "fantastically sexy". Isabella Rossellini said of their clothes: "They find their way out of any black dress, any buttoned-up blouse. 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."  

The partners in life as well as business, in 1988 they expanded into Japan, where they teamed up with the Kashiyama Group, opening their first store in Japan the following year. 

In 1993, the pair was chosen as the designers for Madonna's world tour. Madonna said of their clothing: "I like their designs because they make clothes for a womanly body. Most designers seem to be making clothes for girls with stick bodies who are flat-chested, but I always appreciate my own voluptuousness when I'm wearing their dresses." 

In 1994, they launched a new label, D&G Dolce & Gabanna, aimed at a younger market, and also split their Dolce & Gabanna designs into White, which is the more standard line, and Black for more daring designs. They also have an extensive men's range. In 1995 the designers began to expand into the US, and today, D&G has around 13 signature boutiques and is one of the most sought after brands in the world.  

Dolce & Gabanna's speciality is without a doubt sexy black clothes with even sexier lingerie, footwear, perfume, eyewear and handbags. They do nothing by halves, as their latest business moves prove. Unlike many design houses that have been snapped up by other labels, Dolce & Gabanna have been purchasing interest in many of the company's licensed producers, in an attempt to achieve more vertical integration. As both the CEO and President, it's obvious that Dolce & Gabanna intent to retain as much creative and technical control over their creations as they can, ensuring this independent design house stays cutting edge for many years to come.  

This year's season is more exciting than ever. The women's tux is a slick and stylish design in either white or black, offering that quintessential D&G Italian-feel. And what D&G collection should ever be without animal prints? This year, the matching strappy dress, clutch bag and light overcoat make a tiger out of even the meek.