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Le Botteghe di Firenze

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We are honoured and pleased to present our new Alta Moda, Alta Sartoria and Alta Gioielleria collections in the magical atmosphere of Florence. Thanks to Enrico Rossi, President of the Region of Tuscany, Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, Antonella Mansi, President of the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana, Claudio Marenzi, President of Pitti Immagine for inviting us and making a dream come true, and a special thanks to Fondazione Pitti Discovery for its support. The Florentine Renaissance has always represented for us the realm of the extraordinary, of pure creativity, of manual skill of the highest order, just as love for art and handmade products have always been the cornerstones of our work.

Involving the city’s artisans was a natural process, inspired by their knowledge, skill, love, and patience.
They represent the fabric of the city, ever since Lorenzo il Magnifico and Cosimo I de’ Medici commissioned them to create the masterpieces that we still admire today. We have always been fascinated by Caterina de’ Medici, a woman who, in addition to the art of the Italian garden, introduced perfumes and essences to France.

Thus was born a different kind of project, in which we worked directly alongside the artisans, sharing ideas to create unique and precious pieces that often defy stereotypes and transcend their traditional function.
The items made of terracotta, silk, gold, silver, leather, straw, crystal, porcelain, glass, wood, brocade, feathers, beads, made of semi-precious stones, marble inlays, and glass tesserae, are extraordinary and amazing objects which we wanted to endow with value and visibility through our clothes and which have reinforced, once again, our love and respect for the consummately Italian tradition of artistic craftsmanship.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

Fashion symbolises Italian creativity, excellence and entrepreneurship, and Florence is at the heart of this symbol. Fashion was born here in the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti in 1951 thanks to the farsightedness of the entrepreneur Giovanni Battista Giorgini.
And it is still at home here: many of the big names have their production and design facilities in the greater Florence area, and many schools and museums dedicated to fashion have made their homes in the city centre.

Today this Italian triumph joins with another point of excellence of which we are particularly proud: Florentine artisanry, our showpiece and distinctive trait that defies time with constantly renewed vitality.

We are thus quite enthusiastic that an internationally recognised and quintessentially Italian brand such as Dolce&Gabbana has chosen our city and our quality artisanry in their desire to embrace the finest of our local Made-in-Italy products and the Italian character of which Florence is so richly blessed. I believe this is precisely what inspired Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to look to our city. I have been pleasantly surprised by their ability to select the most outstanding and amazing artisans, who are able to innovate while remaining steadfastly attached to their roots.

I see a strong cultural and social origin in this choice by the fashion designers: we are coming out of a terrible global pandemic, we are bent but indomitable, and it will be our excellence, passion, pride and quality to bring us back to our feet. I am convinced that by working together we will achieve a new Renaissance and that this experience will transform into an opportunity for betterment, a historic and unforgettable stimulus.

Dario Nardella
Mayor of Florence

Everything changes. And what we have lived through in the last few months has shown us that. But there are anchors that continue to give substance to the present, fuelled by the splendour of the past and the desire to look to the future. One of these is artistic craftsmanship, explored in these pages in all its marvellous concreteness. Florence’s workshops are part of the genetic code of the city, they have made its history, both cultural and economic; they have been crucibles of beauty, learning, work, commerce.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s project invites us to go further. It valorises artisanal know-how and makes it a shared and timeless heritage, essential knowledge for new generations of designers, and a precious source of inspiration for a contemporary creativity that conquers the markets with excellence. Because artisanal creations are all about emphasising the quality, the identity and connection to a territory, and the uniqueness of a handcrafted object which, in the end, is a work of art – no less today than yesterday – desired and sought all over the world.
Our workshops send an important signal, an invitation to work together so that Florence continues to be an international centre on the merits not only of its history, culture, and architecture, but also its gravitational pull, thanks to a unique economic-productive infrastructure where tradition and innovation merge with rare artistry.

Antonella Mansi
President of the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana

Discover le Botteghe di Firenze