Daily Front Row

2007 January 9

Changes in PR at Dolce & Gabbana

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(NEW YORK) Dolce & Gabbana USA has made some shifts to its public relations team. Senior PR manager Christina Latargia will be exiting the company at week’s end to assume the title of PR director at Etro, handling both women’s and men’s (nine-year Etro PR veteran Alisha Farmer resigned to pursue other opportunities). In her place, Amy Schmitt, who oversaw the secondary D&G line, has been promoted to senior manager of public relations at Dolce & Gabbana. According to a company statement, Schmitt will oversee both women’s and men’s, be responsible for editorial features, and work closely with the Milan press office on public relations programs and editorial strategy. Filling the gap left by Schmitt’s promotion, La Force + Stevens publicist Christopher Martinelli has joined the company as senior manager of PR for D&G. Both Schmitt and Martinelli will report to Glenn McMahon, president of Dolce & Gabbana USA.

The PR changes aren’t the only chatter amongst in the Dolce & Gabbana community of late. W’s February issue features the brand’s namesake designers, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, photographed in their Portofino escape by Steven Klein. The designers stripped for most of the 20-page spread, inspired by the Italian decadence of Fellini intertwined with references to Pasolini, Helmut Newton, and Visconti, with many of the shots featuring Gabbana—an avid boxer—in nothing more than a pair of briefs and chain link women’s stilettos. According to the company, the idea of the shoot was not to just unveil their bodies, but also their fantasies, fears, transgressions, and dreams—in essence, to show the world what it means to be Dolce, by balancing erotic tension and sexy glamour. The clothes aren’t so bad either.
JIM SHI