Introducing Dolce & Gabbana's In-House Beauty Division

The brand Dolce & Gabbana invokes a sense of luxury and high style combined with a refreshing artisanal yet slightly...

The brand Dolce & Gabbana invokes a sense of luxury and high style combined with a refreshing artisanal yet slightly eccentric approach to design. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana established their Italian fashion house in 1985, making their runway debut in Milan. Their fashion empire expanded to include complementing beauty, jewelry, menswear, and accessory lines; they even set an NFT fashion record in 2021, selling their Collezione Genesi collection for almost $6 million. This collection included four virtual pieces and five physical pieces.

In 1992, Dolce & Gabbana released their first fragrance, simply called Dolce & Gabbana for Women. Since then, they have created over 100 more fragrances. They added a makeup line in 2009. Shiseido, the Japanese cosmetics company that produced Dolce & Gabbana’s beauty line since 2016, ended its licensing agreement in December of 2021.

Dolce & Gabbana Launches Its New In-House Beauty Division

Several premier fashion houses incorporate makeup, skincare, and fragrances into their overall brand, but beginning in 2022, Dolce & Gabbana joins a select few that develop, produce, and distribute their beauty lines in-house. They are the first Italian house to do so.

According to Alfonso Dolce, the decision to create a new beauty division in-house is in line with Dolce & Gabbana’s “long-term strategy which sees us committed to consolidating, cultivating and promoting Italian artisanal and manufacturing excellence.” Alfonso believes that beauty can become a significantly larger source of revenue for the brand.

Fragrances

This new division’s launch comes at an ideal time, as the sale of beauty products in the U.S. is growing rapidly. The fragrance category saw sales increase by 35% in 2021, with larger bottles of more expensive products such as designer brands and artisanal blends performing the best.

That is good news for Dolce & Gabbana, whose fragrance line accounts for 95% of their $1.1 billion annual beauty revenue. As part of their expansion, the Dolce & Gabbana Beauty division is introducing “very rare, Italian-quality” fragrances at about double the cost of their current offerings. CEO Gianluca Toniolo hopes to double or triple their fragrance market share. By March 2023, the company expects to hire 130-150 people in Italy and an additional 100-120 abroad.

The current Dolce & Gabbana fragrance collection includes scents for women and men that combine Mediterranean influences with unexpected enhancements.

Cosmetics

The Dolce & Gabbana makeup collection includes high-quality products for your face, lips, and eyes. Current plans are to expand the range of color products in this line.

Dolce & Gabbana products for your face include:

•      Primers

•      Concealers

•      Foundations

•      Setting and illuminating powders

•      Blushes

•      Bronzing or illuminating drops

Distinctive packaging makes the aesthetic appeal of this line stand out as well.

Tubes for the bold-colored lip balms, lipsticks, and liquid lip colors feature gold combined with floral and baroque designs, making them a striking addition to anyone’s cosmetic collection. With matte, cream, and high shine finishes available, there is something for everyone.

The Dolce & Gabbana eye selection features eye shadows, eyeliners, brow liners, and mascara.

Skincare

Although Dolce & Gabbana Beauty plans to enter the skincare market, they don’t intend to include anti-aging products.

The Future of Dolce & Gabbana

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana originally planned to shut down their fashion house when they retire because they were afraid that a new designer wouldn’t have the same commitment to the message their label conveys. However, they now plan for members of the Dolce family to take over.

Domenico’s brother Alfonso, sister Dora and some of their children already play a major part in the Dolce & Gabbana brand. Even young family members are given opportunities to make clothes, preparing them for future roles in the company.

Creating a new beauty company is just a step along the way of realizing the luxury brand’s potential.