Have you ever wanted to look like an Italian ’60s movie star? The sort of guy who steps out of an Alfa Romeo Spider in a sharply tailored black suit? Or an aristocratic type from Sicily in an embroidered velvet dinner jacket, entering a ballroom in Taormina to dance under the chandeliers?
If so, it’s likely you’ll have thought of getting kitted out at Dolce & Gabbana, the label that since its launch in 1985 has made glamorous Italian style its signature.
The genesis of the Dolce & Gabbana look – all corset and lace and floral prints for women and elegantly tailored suits, jackets and coats for men, lies in the childhood of Domenico Dolce, who grew up in Polizzi Generosa in Sicily. He remembers spending hours with his father in his tailoring studio and on house visits. ‘My nursery was my father’s studio,’ says Dolce today. ‘We would visit the nobility at their homes and do fittings; then in the evenings my father would make [clothes] for the townspeople and the farmers, all of whom took great pride in how they looked.’
He also remembers the scene of the town square where, after work, people would congregate to drink martinis. ‘It was the 1960s and the men would drive around in their Lancia and Alfa Romeo sports cars in well-cut, narrow-silhouette suits and pale blue shirts; and the women were so beautiful.’
It is this la dolce vita lifestyle that the adult Domenico Dolce parlayed into an aesthetic code when he and his partner Stefano Gabbana launched their label. Gabbana was from Milan and brought a contemporary, metropolitan spirit into the equation. The mash-up between northern Italian club culture and southern Italian craftsmanship and glamour has been a successful marriage ever since.
Several years ago, however, the duo realised that there was a paradox to becoming a global success. If their wares were universally available, how could they maintain the special and personal aspect of the work? In other words, how could they replicate an experience that was closer to that of the people who went to Dolce senior’s atelier back in the 1960s? One answer was to make couture, which Dolce & Gabbana launched as Alta Moda, giving it a proudly Italian name, in 2012. But this is extremely specialised, expensive and not for mass consumption.
So, enter made-to-measure, a service for men, where you can get pieces custom-made without the full-blown – and some might say, time-consuming – couture experience. And for a more reasonable price.
We visited the made-to-measure studio in Dolce & Gabbana’s New York Fifth Avenue store to get the lowdown. Here, there is a discreet private space – red velvet upholstery, mirrors and dark wood shelving – where an expert guides you through the process of having something made to your specifications. It’s an experience now offered in many of the firm’s flagships around the world.
Unlike with bespoke, where things start with a unique cardboard pattern being created from your measurements, made-to-measure bases your garment on existing samples you try on to get an approximate fit. These, in plain black wool, are then pinned and marked-up with chalk for adjustment. You choose the types of pockets, lapels and details you want and the fabric from a large selection, as well as lining and buttons. You can order tailored garments, shirts (with a choice of collars and cuffs), knits and a host of accessories. Your configuration is then sent to Italy to be made.
The result will always have the Dolce & Gabbana look – there is a house style that believes in an elegantly sculpted silhouette, and you can see this in action on Colin Farrell, who is the face of Dolce & Gabbana Made to Measure. But the garments will be yours. There’s no danger of bumping into anyone wearing the same thing at that wedding, garden party or night out. And you will likely look like something out of a Fellini film.
Dolce & Gabbana Made to Measure is available at 717 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10022, USA, and at other Dolce & Gabbana flagship stores globally; dolcegabbana.com
Peter Howarth is the editorial director of Secret Trips
