Dolce & Gabbana Eyes Growth in Menswear, Lifestyle & Global Expansion

MILAN — Dolce & Gabbana is entering a new phase and it’s a promising one, with growth prospects also in the menswear category, according to co-chief executive officer Stefano Cantino.

“Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have a strong point of view on both genders,” said Cantino.

Launched as a women’s brand more than four decades ago, “with a feminine, sexy and sensual aesthetic, Dolce & Gabbana comprises both men’s and women’s collections with a singular vision, which translates into a strong business opportunity. The breadth of the offer is unique, starting from fashion to tailoring, lifestyle and couture,” he said.

Menswear, launched in 1990, already represents 50 percent of the brand’s business, but Cantino, speaking ahead of the spring 2027 show Saturday, sees untapped potential for the category — while also continuing to grow the women’s division, he added.

Admitting a personal focus on made-to-measure, Cantino contended the choice, personalization and sartorial details at the brand are of the utmost “excellence and construction.”

He touted the Milan menswear flagship in Corso Venezia, which includes an expansive space dedicated to made-to-measure. While the footwear collections “are more complete,” there is much potential and growth opportunities in the leather goods category.

Cantino underscored that the two genders are well-balanced in stores around the world, with dedicated floors and specific areas, and that, in the short term, this will be the strategy going forward, although he did not rule out the opening of additional menswear stores.

Out of a total of the existing 150 retail boutiques, seven are dedicated to menswear, while 143 are dual-gender.

Further highlighting the importance of the menswear category for the brand, Cantino said “it’s fundamental to have a separate menswear show, it reflects the division’s strength and identity and the idea is to continue along this path.” Holding the shows in Milan is also key. “This is where Dolce & Gabbana was born, and it’s very important to be part of Milan Men’s Fashion Week.”

The executive sees potential in the men’s Alta Sartoria collections, which are under the Alta Moda or couture umbrella that also comprises women’s collections, high jewelry for men and women, and watches for men and women. This year they will all be unveiled in Taormina, Sicily, July 12 to 14. Last year, Alta Moda was held in Rome. The first Alta Sartoria show was held in July 2015 in Portofino.

Despite the macro international challenges, Cantino believes “it’s in the difficult moments that foundations are laid for the future. I have no doubt there are opportunities for the brand, which relies on undisputed credibility, and the strategy is to focus on its core identity. Over the years it has stayed true to its strong values and image with a unique attitude, and this is winning for the future as well.”

Because of this strong identity, the brand will further develop its product offer in different categories, including lifestyle.

Cantino trumpeted the brand’s strength in lifestyle, food and beverage, starting from the DG Martini Bar & Restaurant Milano, which opened in 2003 and was renewed in 2022.

The home collection, launched in 2021, is also an asset that can be further leveraged, he said. Currently, there are 18 Dolce & Gabbana Casa stores in the world.

In 2023, Dolce & Gabbana began taking over and customizing prestigious beach clubs and luxury resorts, also with pop-ups and special activations. These venues today include Cala di Volpe, Sardinia; Le Carillon, Portofino; Twiga Versilia, Forte dei Marmi; Casa Amor, Saint-Tropez; San Domenico Palace, Taormina; Clap House, Ibiza; Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa, Hamptons, and La Cabane, Marbella.

The brand also a successful beauty business, brought back in-house in 2022 — it was previously licensed to Shiseido — seeing significant sales gains under the lead of former LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton executive Gianluca Toniolo. The firm ranked 45^th in WWD Beauty Inc’s 2024 list of the top 100 beauty companies by sales, with estimated sales of 910 million euros at the time, up 35 percent versus 2023.

The brand has a makeup line and it will officially make its debut in skin care in September with the release of the antiaging “Ever Youth” line. It also has embarked on a significant rollout plan of dedicated beauty stores, with a first unveiled last year in Jakarta, Indonesia, followed by Hong Kong and London’s Covent Garden, among others.

In March, EssilorLuxottica and Dolce & Gabbana revealed the extension until 2025 of the production and global distribution licensing agreement of prescription frames and sunglasses for the brand. The license was first inked in 2004.

While staying true to its fundamentals and values, the company is going through a restructuring of the organization, with a more agile structure and simplified, more direct reporting, Cantino pointed out.

Leveraging a career built at the Prada Group and at Louis Vuitton, he was named co-CEO of the Italian fashion group in April after exiting Gucci in September 2025. He flanks Alfonso Dolce, chairman and CEO, and Domenico Dolce’s brother.

In May, he tapped Maria Cristina Lomanto as general manager Europe.

Lomanto was most recently president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Gucci, which she joined in 2022 from Roger Vivier.

The moment of transformation also saw cofounder Stefano Gabbana resigning from his positions at Dolce & Gabbana Holding Srl, Dolce & Gabbana Trademarks Srl and Dolce & Gabbana Srl last January. However, Gabbana, who reportedly has a 40 percent stake in the privately owned company, maintains his “creative activities” within the group, the company has said.

As reported, market sources, which peg the company’s revenues at 1.9 billion euros, have said Dolce & Gabbana has tapped Rothschild to renegotiate its debt of 450 million euros with banks including Intesa, BPM, Crédit Agricole, CDP and BNL, leveraging “extensive real estate assets and royalties’ revenues.”