One style fits all as Dolce & Gabbana adds size 22 to range
DOLCE & Gabbana has become the first fashion house to sell dresses up to a size 22.
The larger sizes will be available in the Italian brand’s latest collection – its pre-autumn collection – which is beginning to arrive in shops now.
Plus-sized clothing is rare in the luxury sector. High-end online shop Neta-porter has 6,745 items of clothing listed on its website, but this narrows to just 47 choices in the XXXL category, which is a size 20. On Matchesfashion. com, the range of 15,075 pieces is whittled down to 356 options across sizes 18-20.
Dolce & Gabbana has previously been praised for using plus-size models, including Ashley Graham and Tess Mcmillan, and has committed to using size 22 models in the future.
“Extending our clothing size range is a tribute to women and to feminine body shapes,” the designers told The Daily Telegraph.
However, the brand has attracted criticism in the past for selling accessories emblazoned with the slogan “I’m thin and gorgeous”.
In 2017, the phrase appeared on a pair of trainers. At the time, Claire Mysko, of the American National Eating Disorders Association, said: “Though there may be an element of cheeky humour at play, equating thinness and beauty with success and status is a message that hurts everyone.”
Dolce & Gabbana insists that it has always embraced women of all sizes.
“We have always been interested in authentic and beautiful women,” they said. “Our first runway show was entitled ‘Donne Vere’ (Real Women), it was 1985. We dress women of different sizes.”