Lady LUX

Although Dolce & Gabbana is more often associated with evening wear than sportswear, the Italian designers aren’t opposed to showing their appreciation for athletics.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana will dress the Milano Thunder team during the first World Series of Boxing championship. The concept of designing for athletes isn’t foreign to the luxury label: Dolce and Gabanna created the off-field uniforms for the AC Milan soccer team.

“We like the discipline that goes with sports, and boxing in particular,” Gabbana said to WWD. “Take a look at any stadium, and see how sports join together people with so many different ideas and backgrounds, how a lawyer sits next to a factory worker — it’s all very democratic. Through the same language, a passion for sports abates all social differences.”

Gabbana added that he and his partner enjoy training and working out, liking the sense of accomplishment that accompanies pushing yourself physically.

The items created for Milano Thunder could easily be deemed a collection, with almost every piece accounted for—boxing shorts, gloves, robes, warm-up clothes, everyday clothing and tuxedos for formal events. D&G also made sure to make the pieces as personal as possible, tailoring each piece to each player, and even incorporating their superstitions into the clothing.

“Athletes work with their bodies, and they can wear designer clothes just like models,” Domenico Valentino, lightweight gold medal world champion, told WWD. “Men have accepted fashion and today take care of their bodies, so who is better than an athlete as an example?”

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