Dolce & Gabbana are launching their first luxury men’s timepiece collection and if Donatella Versace had her way, she’d be dressing the Queen in black and leather.
The watch line will comprise 52 models and be available in select boutiques from June 18 and then stocked in 30 stores before the end of the year.
Stefano Gabbana, of the design duo, told WWD, ”A man cannot not have a watch, it’s part of a man’s style, it’s one of the few accessories that he can wear, and it was a category that was missing for us.”
Speaking about the select distribution method, Stefano added, ”It’s interesting to offer products that one must look for, special things that are difficult to find.”
The Swiss-made collection is split into three product lines: the classic DG7, with a mesh Milano chain bracelet; the sporty DS5, with chronometers and chronographs tested by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, and the glitzy DG7 Gems, embellished with diamonds, rubies, sapphires or emeralds.
Stefano said his creative partner and watch-lover Domenico Dolce had ensured the line was ”tasteful and unpretentious” and the pieces were ”never too flashy”.
The Italian fashion house see this as the next logical step after they launched their jewellery line in 2011.
Domenico explained, ”We didn’t wonder whether this was the right moment, we just felt the moment had come, just as we did with our jewels.”
The Italian house launch the international ad campaign featuring images by Mariano Vivanco in June.
The faces of the brand have been named as David Gandy for the DG7, Adam Senn for the DS5 and Enrique Palacios for the DG7 Gems.
Prices start from $2,513.
The fashion designer admits her dream client to dress would be the 86-year-old British monarch.
Donatella said, ”If I could dress anyone I’d like to dress the queen – she can handle anything. I’d put her in black – she never wears black – and add a little leather, maybe. A little rock ‘n’ roll.”
Donatella – who took over the Versace fashion empire after brother Gianni was murdered in 1997 – also revealed the power of fashion in masquerading her problems.
Speaking at the Oxford University Union, Donatella said, ”Fashion is a weapon that you can use when you need it. I think my own look makes people think I’m tough but when they get to know me I’m very different. It’s like armour that was useful to me in the first years after Gianni’s death. It was difficult to live that pain in public – and to be compared to him when he was the genius and I was only ever the accessory. It was hard to hear people constantly say ‘will she make it?’ I don’t mean to sound like a martyr – just to make the point that I used my personal image to hide all these emotions.”
