Opera Chic is a big big fan of Stefano & Domenico (in the photo above by Mikael Jannson) because:
a) She sees them at la Scala a lot -- the only major designers here who consistently show their love for the opera besides the classical music loving Missonis.
b) They do their own thing and unlike most major designers they still own their company
c) And, especially, after a quarter of a century together, they show everyone -- gay or straight -- what a really cool adult relationship is about.
d) Stefano has actually a butler who loads music in his iPod, possibly the ultimate luxury in this world
e) Finally, Opera Chic has bought and worn so much of their stuff over the years that she considers them members of the family.
Dolce & Gabbana, amici complici and ex-amanti elaborate beautifully on point c) in a great interview in the new Interview mag. One of the best moments is this:
TB: Do your boyfriends ever get jealous of your relationship?
SG: If so, it’s too bad for them. We are really good friends—that’s it, like brothers. We are family. I say Domenico is the first person in my life. If you don’t like it, it’s your problem.
TB: Do you think your relationship is unusual?
DD: Very unusual.
SG: Our relationship is also a very good example for everybody in the world, gay and straight. Because our love story continued, without sex and without living together. Why not? He was the first big love story in my life. Why do we need to cancel that? And I don’t want to forget it.
TB: Do you think you’ll end up together again?
SG: But we do live together. No, not together, but he lives on one floor and I live on another. I don’t know what he does in the night with his boyfriend. And I don’t care, really.
DD: No, listen to me. Let me tell you about last night. You were supposed to call me. My boyfriend had a fever so he couldn’t go out, and you said, “Ciao. I’ll call you later. We’ll go to dinner.”
SG: And I forgot and I didn’t call him.
DD: And I’m waiting for dinner. Yesterday I didn’t eat, and I told him that. And I waited. And on Saturday night I stayed home because my boyfriend had a fever, and I fell asleep on the sofa in front of the TV, and then I wake up and I hear the noise, boom, boom. I think maybe it’s the air conditioner. I turn off the TV and it’s boom, boom, boom, over my kitchen.
SG: Because Giovanna [Battaglia, erstwhile house model, now a contributing fashion editor at L’Uomo Vogue] was there, dancing like Madonna in the “Give It 2 Me” video.