Interview

Dolce & Gabbana The most famous duo in fashion may not always dance to the same beat—or even in the same room. But they do know perfectly well how to play off each other to stunning effect. And as they celebrated Domenico’s 50th birthday in Milan last September with a star-studded fete, it became spectacularly clear that the party at the Dolce & Gabbana disco is just getting warmed up.

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A conversation with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana reminds me of rafting—except my wild ride is on torrents of words rather than water. English, Italian, and the verbal shorthand born of a very close quarter-century relationship tumble together in an idiosyncratic jumble. Pity the poor transcriber. Still, one does one’s best. The three of us are talking in a leopard spot–draped salon in the designers’ Milan headquarters. Lunch awaits in the zebra-patterned room next door. There are big, important-looking pictures all over the walls, plus two prints of a Steven Klein portrait of Madonna, signed to each of them by their favorite collaboratrix. “Of course, one each,” Gabbana says archly. “Dolce & Gabbana is not one.” There are times when you could be forgiven for thinking such: They have that finish-each-other’s-sentences habit of longtime co-habitués, even if Dolce now lives downstairs from Gabbana and his late-night disco-dollying. (Diana Ross belted “I Will Survive” at discophile Domenico’s 50th birthday bash last September in Milan, so he tolerates the bass line seeping through the floorboards.) But the two are funniest when they tartly beg to differ. Dolce loves Pierce Brosnan singing ABBA in Mamma Mia! (2008); Gabbana feels the chubby former 007 will be lucky to work again after croaking his way through “SOS.” Speaking of croaking: Domenico and Stefano are both fighting colds. Snow came early to Milan this winter.

TIM BLANKS: An early winter. How fitting when the news is so bad everywhere!

STEFANO GABBANA: Everywhere. It’s worldwide.