If you’re a fan of the D&G diffusion line, hold onto your hats: designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are rumoured to be combining their D&G and Dolce & Gabbana lines into a single brand, as reported by WWD.
Renowned as the “youth” or “little sister” line, word on the street is that market confusion has prompted the two to focus on a single brand, with sources claiming that D&G and Dolce & Gabbana “cannibalized” each other, and that competitive pricing made having two brands redundant.
An anonymous Italian retailer has come forward claiming “I don’t understand, because D&G is a line that makes 400 million euros, it’s young and flexible and it’s doing very well. It’s a lot to ask retailers . . . Domenico and Stefano are are clever, though, so they must have thought this out and consider it a wise strategic move”. (Thank you for the insight, anonymous source.)
However, another retailer has maintained that it’d be a positive move since stockholders have been baffled by “the confusion surrounding them”, leading to many of us nodding in agreement since the differences between each line can be surmised in a single “huh?”
But if you’re a D&G aficionado, fear not: the designers haven’t yet commented, but a line is scheduled for Spring 2012. Meaning? You’ve got at least two more seasons to prove the collections are ones worth standing alone.