In case you needed another reason to book a trip to London for the holiday season, Dolce & Gabbana has transformed the luxury department store Harrods into an Italian winter pop-up market and shopping extravaganza from November 2 to December 28.
Related: Dolce & Gabbana as you’ve never seen them before
The seasonal celebrations point to how the design maestros enjoy the festive period. Every year on December 24, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, design and business partners for 32 years, stay up until midnight to usher in the holiday. The next day, the pair host a lunch for 25 or 26, “children, uncles, nephews, brothers, sisters… we mix our families,” Gabbana tells Vogue. There is always a tree, hung with dozens upon dozens of mementoes, the result looking like “total chaos, a flea market.” Everyone is asked to cook a dish – and this being Italy, there is always a meat ravioli – although Gabbana usually cheats and buys something. “I’m not a good cook,” he confesses. “Domenico is very good.”
Courtesy of Dolce and Gabbana
While only a few people can enjoy the privilege of dining in famiglia with Dolce & Gabbana, this holiday season shoppers in London can at least experience a little taste. Vogue.me highlights four reasons to hop on a long-haul flight to experience the Dolce & Gabbana X Harrods takeover:
#1. There is a tree out front, decorated in gold ribbons and colorful lights. The store’s windows will be designed in the style of a Sicilian puppet theatre, with Dolce & Gabbana appearing in marionette form to introduce passersby to the story of the house.
#2. On the fourth floor, visitors walk into a replica Italian piazza strung with colored lights.
Related: The cultured twists behind Dolce & Gabbana’s Pre-Fall abayas
Courtesy of Dolce and Gabbana
#3. This is the perfect opportunity to complete your holiday shopping in one fell swoop. Booths display a variety of goods, many designed exclusively for the department store, including floral and sequin-embroidered women’s evening dresses, men’s suits in striped lurex and silk shantung, and children’s ready-to-wear. Those on the hunt for gifts will find displays full of toys, fragrance, fine jewelry, shoes, handbags, and other accessories.
#4. A painter is stationed on the fourth floor for shoppers who want to personalize their newly purchased Sicily bag with hand-painted designs.
Courtesy of Dolce and Gabbana
This is not the first time Harrods has invited a single brand to deck its halls for the holiday. Last year, Burberry installed “A very British fairy-tale” in the store’s windows, with items designed just for Harrods available for purchase. In 2015, the brand of the season was Samsung.
Take an insider tour of the Dolce & Gabbana x Harrods takeover:
“We put our personal [selves] in everything we do,” Gabbana says of this year’s takeover. “Now we are [bringing] it to Harrods.”
See some of the treats Dolce & Gabbana have in store, curated by Vogue.me:
Interview by Lauren Indvik
