Dolce & Gabbana smells of royalty in latest fragrance ad

March 31, 2022

Mariano Di Vaio prepares for his day like a king, with K by Dolce & Gabbana by his side. Image credit: Dolce & Gabbana

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana is introducing a new chapter of its notable K fragrance line for men through a royal lens.

Shot by photographer Mariano Vivanco in an extravagant palace, the new K by Dolce & Gabbana campaign follows model Mariano Di Vaio through a journey of self-awareness and a celebration of life. The newest fragrance from Dolce & Gabbana is one intended for a man in his element who paves his own way — a king, so to speak.

Masculinity in motion
Driven by a remix of Ennio Morricone’s classic piece “Ecstasy of Gold,” the vignette depicts Mr. Di Vaio getting ready for the day in a grandiose setting.

Surrounded by murals in a large room, he awakens in silk sheets to a breeze coming in through the floor-to-ceiling open windows.

K by Dolce & Gabbana is fit for a king

He splashes water on his face and dons the day’s ensemble, which includes his K fragrance — the final accessory to enhance his overall essence.

The film serves as a celebration of life's most precious moments, depicting a man who enjoys taking the time to care for himself in a dreamlike environment.

The campaign was inspired by the concept of #OwnYourCrown, which was also used to tag the campaign across social channels.

K by Dolce & Gabbana intends to capture the essence of masculinity — a term that takes on various meanings for different people. For Dolce & Gabbana, this means paving one’s own path, cherishing family, remaining true to one’s roots and respecting tradition while embracing modernity.

The collection aims to represent and celebrate what it means to be self-aware today.

The geometric bottle is offset by the ornate details of the handcrafted crown cap that sits atop — each made with particles of 24-carat gold.

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Each crown cap is made of 24-carat gold

The eau de toilette features top notes of blood orange, pressed lemon and juniper berry, heart notes of sage, geranium and spicy pimento essence and base notes of cedarwood, vetiver and patchouli.

Business of beauty
Since its first fragrance in 1992, Dolce & Gabbana has created more than 100 fragrances and worked alongside many of the industry’s most renowned perfumers, and has developed an extensive cosmetics offering.

After 30 years, the company is bringing beauty operations in-house — a move that goes against the general trend among fashion houses, today, which are increasingly tapping larger beauty groups to operate fragrance and cosmetic offerings.

In February, the brand announced it has begun its shift from a licensing model to direct operations with a new standalone beauty company: Dolce & Gabbana Beauty. Based in Milan, Dolce & Gabbana Beauty will be responsible for the manufacturing, sales and distribution of the brand’s fragrance and cosmetics products (see story).

This recent development could have something to do with last year’s news that the brand and Japanese beauty group Shiseido jointly entered into a partial termination of their beauty license agreement (see story).

The new campaign also marks the return of Mr. Di Vaio as the face of K by Dolce & Gabbana. He had previously appeared in a 2019 effort for the brand (see story).

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