Brands Like Dolce & Gabbana: Seven Labels for the Same Wardrobe

People reach for Dolce & Gabbana for three quite different reasons, and the useful
alternatives depend on which one is yours. If you are there for the print, you want a
different set of labels than if you are there for the tailoring. Here is the map.

If you buy it for the prints

La DoubleJ

The closest match in spirit. Founded in Milan by JJ Martin, the label works from
Italian archive prints and cuts them into loud, joyful shapes. It is less structured than
Dolce & Gabbana and less expensive, and it shares the same refusal to treat a print as
a once-a-season event.
Shop La DoubleJ.

Zimmermann

Australian rather than Italian, and the prints run to florals and resort rather than
majolica and leopard. What it shares is the idea that a printed dress is a complete
outfit. Softer and lighter, and a good bridge if full Dolce & Gabbana feels like a lot.
Shop Zimmermann.

If you buy it for the corsetry and the glamour

Alessandra Rich

Italian, and probably the sharpest single alternative for the eveningwear end. Polka
dots, crystal buttons, strong shoulders, a very deliberate nod to the 1980s. It hits the
same register as a Dolce & Gabbana cocktail dress and is often a little easier to
wear.
Shop Alessandra Rich.

Magda Butrym

Polish, and the closest thing to Dolce & Gabbana’s romantic register in
contemporary ready-to-wear. Corsetry, roses, bias cuts, a body-conscious line. Quieter
palette, same intent.
Shop Magda Butrym.

Elie Saab

Where you go when you want the occasion dress to be the loudest thing in the room.
Lebanese couture house, heavier on embellishment and lighter on print. If your Dolce &
Gabbana purchases are all black lace and evening, this is the natural neighbour.
Shop Elie Saab.

If you buy it for the Italian tailoring

The Attico

Milanese, founded by Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini. Sharper and more minimal than
Dolce & Gabbana, with the same instinct for a strong shoulder and an unapologetic
evening piece. Good if you want the Milan attitude without the ornament.
Shop The Attico.

Giambattista Valli

Italian, Paris-based, and the romantic maximalist option. Volume, floral, and a couture
sensibility in the ready-to-wear. It answers the same occasion brief from a softer angle.
Shop Giambattista Valli.

How they compare at a glance

Is anything a direct substitute

Honestly, no. The combination Dolce & Gabbana runs, Sicilian ornament on Milanese
construction, from a house that has been independent since 1985 and keeps reworking its
own archive, does not have a like-for-like equivalent. La DoubleJ gets closest on print and
Alessandra Rich gets closest on evening, but each takes one half of the brief rather than
both.

If it is the real thing you are after, Luxury Handbags carries more than 900 Dolce & Gabbana pieces
across
dresses,
jackets,
skirts and
knitwear.
Start at the
Dolce & Gabbana hub, read
who Dolce & Gabbana are, and
check the
size guide before you order.