According to an article by Business of Fashion, Italian luxury house, Dolce & Gabbana has created a brand new company to manage the sales of its perfumes and cosmetics. The company will directly manage the development, production and sales of these categories.
The move makes Dolce & Gabbana the first Italian fashion house to bring its beauty division in-house. While this is already key for many fashion houses, they are usually managed through licensing.
Dolce & Gabbana CEO, Alfonso Dolce, said going in-house will allow for more creative tie-ins with runway collections, “creating a more global, transversal experience,’’ that he believes will bring the brand “closer not only to our loyal customers but also new Gen-Z clients.”
He also added that the move was part of a “long-term strategy which sees us committed to consolidating, cultivating and promoting Italian artisanal and manufacturing excellence.”
The change comes after the Milan fashion powerhouse’s licensing deal with Japanese cosmetics giant, Shiseido, was terminated in December last year. This was just one of the many licensing agreements Dolce & Gabbana had entered since launching fragrances 30 years ago.
Although luxury fashion houses have owned beauty categories for many years now, fragrance has long been the “beauty standard-bearer.” However, cosmetics are increasingly becoming a great way to tailor towards and reach younger consumers. Brands such as Hermes and Gucci even offer their runway colour palettes as luxurious nail polishes.
Dolce & Gabbana Beauty operating chief executive, Gianluca Toniolo, says the brand aims to grow its cosmetics from 2% to 15% in the beauty business, with five years of its 2023 launch.
The new category will consist of fragrances, cosmetics and skincare. The first new fragrances will launch next year, with cosmetics to follow.
