Episode two of Molto Italiano, the Dolce & Gabbana podcast that delves into subject matter such as the brassiere and the tank top, is all about the color black. In this episode, Isabella Rossellini guides listeners through eye-opening discoveries about the color, sharing time with Dominico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who also hold forth about the color black, one of the most iconic D&G colors.

Dominico Dolce’s Wonderful Assessment of Black

Dominico Dolce articulates marvelously about black, speaking almost in stream-of-conscious poetry form about its virtues. Dolce ascribes a thousand meanings to black. To him, it collects all colors, is elegant, powerful, depressing, erotic, seductive and aggressive. Black is ambiguous color and the color of the gambit.

The podcast then goes on to discuss how the traditional Sicilian marionette is dressed in black and the question is raised: would you rather be a puppeteer or a puppet? Leaning into the color black when it came to design has helped D&G to emerge as the iconic fashion powerhouse that it is today.

The Relationship Between the Color Black and Sicily

Isabella Rossellini describes the island of Sicily as a black island. She informs the listeners how traditionally widows in the country wear black for the rest of their lives after the deaths of their husbands, thereby ascribing the traditional role of mourning to the color. To grow up in Sicily, she reveals, is to learn about every shade of the color black.

Ms. Rossilini then tells an anecdote about how New York models always wore black to apply a certain character to their photo shoots, given black’s ability to hold its integrity in a way that other colors couldn’t. She wore black, then, too, and when she went back to Sicily she was greeted as one who is in mourning.

The film Cinema Paradisio is discussed, as is director Giussepe Tornatore’s love for the color black. His own experiences as a boy enjoying and studying how black and white films were able to capture so much of viewers’ attention.

Dolce & Gabbana Employ Black With Great Frequency

If you want to know elegance, just take a look at D&G’s stretch Duchesse black square-neck gown. You’ll find our Sorrento sneakers exhibit tasteful exchanges of black and white and our black lace dress is exquisite and revealing.

Ms. Rossalini also gives listeners a fashion tip, that they can put into play whenever they are packing their D&B wardrobe for a trip. According to her wisdom born from lifelong travel, she has more options from packing ten pieces of black clothing than an equal number of colorful clothing.

Black is a color that encompasses many things. It is beautiful in the most versatile way. You’ll see black when death arrives, but it also could be a flourish in a celebration. As the expression goes, there’s always a smile at a funeral and tears at a wedding. This speaks to how the color black is more of an emotional experience than simply a two-dimensional color.