Music and fashion have always enjoyed a richly entwined history, and now that bond has been cemented just a bit more with the announcement of a new menswear collaboration between Dolce & Gabbana and DJ Khaled.
DJ Khaled, an American born to Palestinian parents who describes himself as a devout Muslim, is known for his larger-than-life persona and distinctive look. Favouring brightly patterned shirts and tracksuits that the DJ, producer, and Grammy Award winner dubs his "Miami style," he has now joined forces with the Italian design duo on a unique collaboration that brings maximalism to the fore.
Leaning on the designer's love of lavish images and finishings, the collection that launched on Monday is decorated with motifs and patterns that Dolce & Gabbana has revealed hold meaning for them as well.
Unusually, the collection is just two designs, offered across tracksuits, T-shirts, shorts and hoodies, and even beachwear. For those keen to dress the sofa to match, there are even velvet cushions embroidered with the men's initials.
One of the designs has the face of a lion emblazoned across the chest, surrounded by flowers. While flowers are one of the house codes at Dolce & Gabbana and appear across every collection, music fans will also recognise this as a nod to Khaled's 2016 album Major Key, that saw him pose with a real lion, surrounded by thousands of flowers. Around the flowers are polka dots, another key part of the Dolce & Gabbana lexicon.
The other design is a bold mix of foliage and flowers that echo the palms, flowers and the bright colours of Miami, the city Khaled calls home. On one side is a bright pink floral print, now joined to dark green print of palm fronds.
To come up with the idea, Dolce & Gabbana looked to Miami's famous art district, Wynwood, and its graffiti and murals which are also filled with typical Italian plants such as bougainvillaea flowers and agave.
Speaking of the collaboration, DJ Khaled said: "I’m excited to announce this amazing new collection I have been working on with Dolce & Gabbana. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to collaborate with Stefano and Domenico, and this collection showcases a fun blend of my classic Miami style and the high fashion of Dolce & Gabbana."
Multi-talented, Khaled is also the president of the Def Jam South record label, as well as chief executive and founder of the non-profit charity We The Best Foundation. To honour the work of the foundation, We The Best is written on the cuff of one of the sleeves in the collection.
In a press release about the collaboration, the designers Dolce and Gabbana explained why they decided to join in on the collaboration.
“DJ Khaled’s energy and passion greatly impressed us. Working with him on this special project was a new and exciting experience.”
Following a recent pledge to increase the size range of their clothes, to make them more accessible, Dolce & Gabbana will offer this latest collaboration up to an Italian size 60, which is XXL in US sizes.
