Toniolo (Dolce & Gabbana beauty): 'Italianity a key factor in our beauty'

The sound of the waves crashing against the Faraglioni of Capri, the warmth of the sun at dawn, the citrus scent carried by the breeze, the salty taste of seawater and the breathtaking view of the infinite horizon. It is the campaign - with the two new protagonists, top model Vittoria Ceretti and actor Theo James - of the Light Blue fragrances by Dolce&Gabbana that celebrates the 25th anniversary of the line, but also the success of a project, that of bringing the cosmetics business in-house, which Gianluca Toniolo, ceo of Dolce&Gabbana Beauty, defines as "a bet won".

It all started three years ago, in 2022, when the licence with the Shiseido group expired and the Dolce&Gabbana Beauty company was set up: how far have you come? .

Actually, the years are two, because we became operational on 1 June 2023 and in that time we have more than doubled turnover with positive margins. But before talking about numbers, I would like to explain how we achieved these results. We were the first fashion brand to decide to manage the beauty segment directly, and we did it according to a very precise principle: enhancing the Italian spirit.

How did you put this principle into practice?

First of all by relying on 100% Italian production partners such as Icr and Cosmint for the thirty million bottles of our fragrances; but also Intercos, Chromavis, Ancorotti and Artcosmetics for make-up, which we relaunched last year. All made-in-Italy excellence in the cosmetics industry. Moreover, Italian style is the hallmark of all our launches, starting with Devotion, the first launch of the new Dolce&Gabbana Beauty, which has achieved a wholesale turnover of 180 million since October 2023. Then there was Light Blue, which underwent a total relaunch, but always remaining on the island of Capri (the eau de toilette Light Blue and Light Blue pour homme were perfected by master perfumers Olivier Cresp and Alberto Morillas, the packaging has been redesigned with enamelled caps inspired by Capri's traditional majolica tiles, and two new creations have been added to the family, the eau de parfum Light Blue Capri In Love and Light Blue Capri In Love pour homme, which celebrate the island's heritage, ed).