Dolce Gabbana Fall Winter 2022-2023 Milan Fashion Week. “How Dolce Gabbana went Zara-esk” Review by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE

Give me back my Dolce Gabbana I love!

Dolce Gabbana has been known since 1997, and took place on the market and in the hearts of many for it’s sunny Italian spirit, opera, fabulous crafts and creativity. Bringing back postcards from the 1920s on the garments of today, hearts as applications and art of sneakers was the idea of two great designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. They were a fountain of absolutely ingenious creative ideas. It became their signature. But the time has changed, identity lost.

In 2019 the position of CEO was given to Alfonso Dolce, brother of Domenico Dolce. He decided that joyful Italian spirit, and the signature of the brand don’t matter. What matters is the name, and no matter what goes with it. Quality is also gone. I’m writing it, and putting glue on my very expensive Dolce Gabbana sneakers, as no service is offered with this purchase anymore.

But apart from the low quality and absence of the service, PLAGIARISM became the norm of this brand. 1 year ago Dolce Gabbana brand introduced to the public a new collection of different concepts taken from Philipp Plein, Chanel, Jeremy Scott and many others.. Read my review HERE. But I was not the only one. Devoted buyers were crying out loud on social media networks about plagiarism this brand introduced to the public today, as a new way and directive of this new CEO.

Brand ignored everything and continued in this direction, proudly announcing €1.5 billion in 2021 for massive sales of low quality footwear, handbags, sunglasses, perfumes and cosmetics for very expensive price. How long the founders of this beautiful brand think it will last.

This Dolce Gabbana Fall Winter 2022-2023 collection should have a name “Market of Stolen Goods”. Not a single concept / creative idea belongs to Dolce Gabbana. Everything was taken from other brands or designers and transformed a little, so it won’t be so obvious. It’s like the market for stolen expensive cars, when a stolen car was painted in another color, changed a little bit the interior of a car and resold.

I’m going to line up images one by one, as “Fare Compare” game. So we have here the winners BALENCIAGA, SAINT LAURENT (both brands belong to Kering Luxury Group), MONCLER Genius, VERSACE – the brands who’s concept has been ripped off and used without consideration.

This is not exactly the same. But this is the same concept, slightly modifies. Apparently it looks like a marketing concept of Balenciaga and Saint Laurent interpreted with slight modification by Dolce Gabbana.

Remind you of something?… Pause for dramatic effect….

Dolce Gabbana is a new ZARA

What Dolce Gabbana became today is “ZARA”, luxury, very expensive “Zara”. Everyone knows what “Zara” is. It is a brand, who massively produces a cheap imitation of the concept, the most successful looks created by the talented designer for a luxury brand. Zara takes a jacket or dress, copied the “Best seller” concept, slightly modified, changed shape of the pockets, or buttons, color, and put on massive production. So… is that what Dolce Gabbana do today?

Everyone wants to have a trendy jacket or dress, but not everyone can afford it. So Zara proposes very cheap version of trendy look. Zara was chased for it, lost millions…

When I see Mark Jacobs puffer long coats, with his own creative concept he produces for the second Fall season, and I see that creator of the puffer coats and puffer dresses idea and concept Pierpaolo Piccioli (designer of Valentino) for Moncler Genius loves how Marc Jacobs developed his idea with his own concept – that is one thing!

Perhaps idea belongs to everybody. But the concept, the way the idea was realized and produced it’s another.

See as the good example: Pierpaolo Piccioli for Moncler Genius and Marc Jacobs own concept with the idea of puffer coat / dresses.

So what’s the deal with Dolce Gabbana, and why do they have to follow Zara footsteps? Usually brands who don’t have the creative ideas, don’t have designer, who need quickly fit into the market and massively sell do that. But these kind of brands don’t last long… Who would want to see trendy concept jackets or bags reproduced by another brand and also sold very expensive?

I don’t think they run out of juice. Stefano Gabbana is one of the most creative and talented designers I know, who created great trends.

So what is going on? There’s something else, but what? Probably the answer is in €1.5 billion in 2021 income declaration announced by new CEO Alfonso Dolce.

Dolce Gabbana began low quality massive production under directives of new CEO. Surely it was his idea to go Zara-esk.

Taking a concept and modify it, even better, mix it with a concept of another designer – this is a new way of “creativity” in Dolce Gabbana brand and new marketing solution, launched in 2021 by new CEO Alfonso Dolce.

Each and every look in this Dolce Gabbana Fall 2022-2023 collection is a modified concept of someone else. Go figure…

See all looks Dolce Gabbana Fall Winter 2022-2023