D&G to cut prices

Dolce & Gabbana are expected to reduce the prices of their eponymou ready-to-wear label by as much as 20 per cent.

According to WWD, the initiative will begin with the upcoming spring season, but is part of a long-term plan. The price reductions will occur across the board for both the main and D&G lines.

“This crisis has two key aspects: it’s international and social. The first thing people say these days when they walk into a store is, ‘Nice, but how much?’ Stefano Gabbana stated. “In this moment of uncertainty, people spend more willingly on travel or spas rather than on a new dress. We want to work for the final consumer.”

To obtain the price cuts, the designers talked their suppliers and manufacturers into a collective, cost-efficient approach across the entire supply chain. And everyone, from button suppliers to mills to manufacturers, is doing their part, stressed the designers. In addition, the designers’ usual selection of hundreds of fabrics was dropped to dozens that will be served up in a more far-ranging palette, while constructions will be simpler. For example, Dolce and Gabbana worked hard to develop alternative stitching techniques that are innovative, but reduce manufacturing costs.

Dolce compared the process to the resetting of a computer or a cleanup act without wiping the slate entirely clean. “The idea is to peel off the superfluous because there are too many clothes, too many seasons, too much advertising — too much of everything that is tacked onto the final price. We want to go back to how things were 20 years ago. It’s about drawing the line,” he said.

Gabbana doesn’t believe customers will feel betrayed or taken for a ride by having paid more in the past. “Our goal is the consumer and to keep the thousands of people that work for us,” he said.

Added Dolce, “This is the only way to save the market and our companies. It’s time to turn the page.”