“Their Spontaneity Impresses Us”: Dolce & Gabbana On Their E-Boy-Inspired A/W' 21 Men’s Show

When travel limitations got in the way of their original men’s show plans in mid-January, Dolce & Gabbana decided to change up their entire collection. Produced in just two weeks, the outcome signified a big step in a new direction for the designers. The collection, select pieces of which are already available to purchase on Farfetch, didn’t just embrace e-boy culture – techno colours and fabric treatments that jumped through the screen – but reconstructed their classic silhouette for a new era. Anders Christian Madsen spoke to Stefano Gabbana about his and Domenico Dolce’s fresh approach.

SG: Something new! [laughs] We wanted to do a show that was very in the Dolce & Gabbana roots, but too many people were needed for it. So, we changed it completely and made another collection. We are very excited about this collection.

ACM: It looks very new!

SG: This collection is very connected between the old and the new generations. It’s like having cameras in many different parts of the world, from the East to West, like the new generations on TikTok, Twitch, Instagram. It’s the best of the young generations. It’s the beauty of difference.

ACM: What fascinates you about the generation that has grown up on social media?

SG: What impresses me is their spontaneity. That’s what makes the difference, and what makes them exciting to look at. I was like that in my twenties, but I’ve lost it with age.

ACM: Do you interact with the new generations?

SG: All our assistants are between 20 and 30. Domenico and I, we are the hens! [laughs] All the time, throughout the day, we’re asking them what they think about things, how they would wear it, what they’d think if their girlfriend wore it. We talk a lot.

ACM: Do you recognise any parallels between the new generations and your own youth?

SG: It’s similar to an ’80s sense of self-expression: jewels, make-up, colour. I used to paint my nails. But today, it’s not necessarily about sexuality. It’s more spontaneous. It’s free. No boundaries. This is our point of view of a new era. My age – my point of view – has its own eye. But we see the same things.

ACM: Perhaps unconsciously, their style really reflects D&G, your diffusion line from the ’90s and ’00s. I see those memories in this collection, too.

SG: We sense the same feeling now as when we created D&G. It’s two very different times, but there is something very similar. Twenty years ago, on Broadway in New York, we sketched a collection and created D&G. Now, we have a different age, but we are still watching the young generation and trying to interpret them through our roots.

ACM: D&G broke some boundaries in the ’90s and ’00s, didn’t it?

SG: When we painted guys’ nails and put make-up on for our D&G campaigns in the ’90s, we had a lot of problems with the ‘grand jury’ [the Italian advertising regulators]. Ooh! But we were just totally open to the freedom of identity. We loved it.

ACM: This collection filters in a lot of emblems from fashion history and the men’s heritage wardrobe. Why made you want to add that contrast?

SG: It’s a reflection of Domenico and me. We grew a lot since the ’90s: tailoring, craftsmanship, this kind of work. It’s the DNA of Dolce & Gabbana. All those things – Sicily, tailoring, coppola hats – they’re in there. We’re not leaving them behind. We’ve applied these ideas to the young generation. It’s nice to show this generation what we know.

ACM: How do you feel about social media?

If you use social media in a good way, you have the possibility to express yourself. I’m not a part of it because I’m 58, I’m not 25. I just look on from the outside. But Domenico and I are very curious about it. The new always comes from the young. Our job is to pay attention to it.