| Their international breakthrough was a risqu� gem-studded corset for Madonna and ever since they have gained a reputation for pushing the boundaries of fashion.
The Italian pair are renowned for their daring advertising campaigns and provocative designs, which accentuate female curves.
However behind the sexy image of Dolce & Gabbana the two founders, who were once lovers, are both deeply conservative.
The pair are opponents of same-sex marriage and they are now facing a backlash after speaking out against gay adoption and describing children born via IVF as “synthetic”.
Dolce claimed having children should be “an act of love” while Gabbana declared: “The family is not a fad.”
A Hollywood boycott led by Sir Elton John who has vowed never to wear Dolce & Gabbana clothes again was gathering pace yesterday.
The singer, who is married to David Furnish and whose two sons were test-tube babies, wrote: “How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic’. And shame on you for wagging your judgmental little fingers at IVF – a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfil their dream of having children.”
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The views of Dolce, 56, and Gabbana, 52, were shaped by their conventional upbringings.
Domenico Dolce, who was raised in a village on the island of Sicily, is the son of a tailor and became fascinated by clothes design while playing with scraps of his father’s fabrics.
He says: “I grew up in a traditional family, made up of a mother, a father and children.
“I am very well aware of the fact that there are other types of families and they are as legitimate as the one I’ve known. But in my personal experience, family had a different configuration. That is the place where I learnt the values of love and family.”
He’s a staunch Catholic and found a kindred spirit when he met Stefano Gabbana while both were working for a small fashion house in Milan in the 1980s.
Gabbana, whose father was a printer and mother a cleaner, grew up in a working-class area of the city. To earn a few lire he sometimes helped his mother.
The designer has admitted struggling to come to terms with his own sexuality.
“Many of my issues were rooted in my realising that I was gay when I was a little boy,” Gabbana says. “I knew I was different.”
Their brand was born in 1985 and Dolce and Gabbana were an item for more than 20 years.
Gabbana has described their relationship as “a great love story” but, although the pair have always been openly gay, insists they never considered tying the knot or having children.
Italy does not recognise gay marriage.
They separated in 2003 but saw no reason to break up their company, which now employs more than 3,000 people and has made both men billionaires.
Angelina Jolie, Sienna Miller and Scarlett Johansson are among the A-listers who clamour to wear their latest releases.
The Italians’ clothes are cutting edge but their conservative views are considered outdated in liberal Hollywood.
In 2006 Gabbana remarked: “I am opposed to the idea of a child growing up with two gay parents. A child needs a mother and a father. I could not imagine my childhood without my mother. I also believe that it is cruel to take a baby away from its mother.”
It’s a sentiment his business partner echoes, adding: “Life has a natural course, there are things that cannot be modified. The family is one of them.”
Their opinions have won praise from traditionalists yet the pair have also caused offence among the very same supporters with their racy designs and outrageous adverts.
In one, in 2006, a female model was shown being held down by her wrists while a group of men look on.
The brand was attacked for allegedly encouraging rape and the ad was banned in Spain for humiliating women.
The designers insist they see nothing wrong with celebrating the female form and their clothes are renowned for generous displays of cleavage.
“We love breasts, curves,” Dolce says. “Because our dresses show our appreciation they make women feel at ease.”
Madonna has always been a fan and commissioned 1,500 Dolce & Gabbana costumes for her 1993 world tour.
She enthuses: “Their clothes are sexy with a sense of humour like me.”
The designers’ most recent show in Milan was a celebration of motherhood featuring models and their babies on the catwalk.
They are said to be proud of the number of women employed in senior posts.
As the designers show no sign of apologising over their comments other stars including Victoria Beckham, former tennis players Martina Navratilova and singer Ricky Martin have voiced their indignation.
The Dolce & Gabbana empire has emerged unscathed from previous scandals.
Last year the firm was cleared in a long-running tax evasion case.
But if this storm subsides Domenico and Stefano might just decide to keep their opinions to themselves in future.
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