Analysis 9

Dolce and Gabbana’s unique designs are contradictory to some designers. This is because some designers are influenced by other cultures aside from their own, which then makes their designs unconventional to their own culture. For example, Gwen Stefani introduced the Harajuku style to America from Japan and based her clothing line L.A.M.B. off of it. It is interesting that Dolce and Gabbana’s designs and campaigns are heavily influenced by different time periods within their culture. A designer’s first instinct when creating a new clothing line is to be aware of the current fashion trends and yes, it is true, fashion does repeat itself. Seasoned designers can watch for what historic styles will repeat and then interpret those into new and current designs (Eckert & Stacey, n.d.). I did not expect fashions from 16^th and 18^th century Italy to be relevant at all in today’s society.

The duo’s concept behind clothing itself is what sells the pieces in the first place. The outfits not being put into context, I believe, do not make people interested in purchasing the clothing since buyers want to understand the designer’s original visions for the pieces before making their purchases. The campaign as a whole sets a thought in the buyer’s head about how they should feel when wearing the clothing. It sways the person’s attitude to stray from their norm and become someone else for a few hours.

The images that Dolce and Gabbana decided to use for their fall/winter 2013 women’s campaign are unique to the brand itself. The public has never seen anything like it before. A modern wear that is heavily influenced by a period that we cannot just flip back in our family’s albums and see photographs of, set in a time when traditions remained heavy but “La Dolce Vita” was being put into action (Nicolia & Nascimbeni, 2010). This uniqueness of the advertising campaign as a whole is what draws people to the images and ultimately to purchasing the clothing.

References

Eckert, C., & Stacey, M. (n.d.). Designing in the Context of Fashion – Designing 
     the Fashion Context. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from 
     http://www.com-elisava.com/files/docsMODA/dfc.pdf 

Nicolia, A., & Nascimbeni, P. (2010, May 5). Life in Italy 1950s to 1960s. 
     Retrieved November 7, 2012, from Lifeinitaly.com website: 
     http://www.lifeinitaly.com/content/life-italy-1950s-1960s 

Analysis 7 & 8

Domenico Dolce studied fashion design and worked at his family’s clothing factory in Sicily. Stefano Gabbana studied graphic design. The both of them worked as assistants at an atelier in Milan and that’s where the duo met. They started dating and began designing together in 1982. The pair broke up in 2005 but still continue to work together as business partners and friends. Their love for Sicily is what brought the two together, Dolce growing up in Sicily and Gabbana visiting the island on holidays. Their inspiration is drawn from their history with the island.

The pair released their first collection in 1985 and ever since then they have regularly released seasonal collections. They eventually added menswear, a children’s line, ophthalmic and sunglasses, makeup, jewelry, scarves, and bags to their collections. Sicilian women heavily influence their designs and at one time classic Italian films from the 1940’s and 50’s also influenced their designs as well.

The fall/winter 2013 women’s campaign was heavily influenced by baroque romanticism, using gold embellishments, prints of angels and cherubs, Capodimonte style flowers, capes, and lace. The advertisements for this campaign were influenced by the duo’s memories of their childhood in Sicily. This has been a prevalent theme in the pair’s collections from the beginning.

The ads show a family celebrating and relaxing all while wearing amazing clothing. Really, only the good times are shown in the advertisements. The advertisements are set in five different locations. The locations are a restaurant, a terrace, a carnival that is happening in the street, in front of a shop, and in the streets. These are all realistic locations and the people in the advertisements are realistic for the time that the images were produced. The use of a family, showing generations, turned these images from being traditional, high fashion advertisements where the models are posed and static into realistic candids. The idea to make the advertisements look realistic make them more relatable to the average person, even though the clothing in the advertisements can not be afforded by the average person.

The ads are centered on three women. One of these three women are in every image. The three women in the ads are Bianca Brandolini, Monica Bellucci, and Bianca Balti. Bianca Brandolini and Bianca Balta are Italian models and Monica Bellucci is an Italian actress that has been an avid fan of Dolce and Gabbana since the beginning.  Giampaolo Sgura photographed the images in Sicily. Sgura was born in the south of Italy and has photographed for Vogue, Moschino, H&M, GQ, Armani, Balmain, Cavalli, Gucci, and Vanity Fair. The list goes on and on. He has done a lot of work for Dolce and Gabbana

The Dolce and Gabbana fall/winter 2013 women’s campaign takes a modern view on old world Italian, specifically Sicilian, traditions. This is emulated through location, apparel, people, and their actions. The leading females in the images are supposed to represent the women that influenced Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s lives when they were growing up. With that being said, what is the rhetorical function of an advertising campaign that uses cultural specific settings set in a traditional period setting for a modern clothing line?

Resources:

http://www.dolcegabbana.com/dg/advertising/woman/gallery/

http://www.dolcegabbana.com/dg/fashion-show/woman/press-release/

http://www.stylesequel.com/designers/dolce-gabbana/biography

http://www.stylesequel.com/designers/dolce-gabbana/key-fashion-moments

Making of “The Little Black Jacket”. I wish I saw this exhibit in New York.

thatluciegirl:

Alice + Olivia presentation.

The top picture… Third from the right. I die.