Messi in Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce&Gabbana are on a full court press to become the reigning high-end fashion brand when it comes to football. This month, alone, the dynamo Italian duo have inked a deal to dress the current English champions Chelsea as well as the man most rate as the planet’s best player, Lionel Messi.

The Milan-based house announced this week that they will create the formal suits of the Chelsea Football Club, dressing a star line-up that includes internationals like Frank Lampard, John Terry, our favorite battling midfielder, Ghana’s Michael Essien, and Didier Drogba, the top-scoring striker in the English Premiership last season.

Plus, Domenico and Stefano are also going to create their second “Dolce&Gabbana Lounge” concept in the West Stand at Chelsea’s home ground of Stamford Bridge in London. In September 2008, Dolce&Gabbana opened their debut lounge in San Siro stadium for home games of Italian giant AC Milan.

Hate to brag but your favored editors – Markus and I – got to enjoy the pleasures - twice - of the San Siro lounge, first in January, for the opening home game against Fiorentina of fashion icon David Beckham for the rossoneri. Appointed with classic black and white images of fashion shoots, coffee table photography books, black clad waiters, viewing terrace and upstairs seating for 30. Plus, the Sicilian red mini pizzas and pulsatingly tannic Sicilian red they served was not half bad either….

Mr. Deeny and Mr. Ebner in the Dolce box

“We are really happy about this partnership and to be able to link our name to such as prestigious club like Chelsea,” the designing duo said.

Dolce & Gabbana replaces Giorgio Armani, who decided not to renew his three-year contract with the London-based team. Like Armani, the duo’s contract is for three years.

“We are big football fans, for us it means healthy competition, intense passion and great discipline. Football players are style icons both on and off the pitch and, on top of this, there is our love of England and of London, which have always been a source of inspiration for our work,” Domenico and Stefano added.

They will create two outfits for the players – dark three piece suits with two button jackets, and the club’s rampant lion crest embroidered on the breast pocket, and jeans worn with a “martini” shirt and black sneakers. A black coat completes the look for the Chelsea blues. For foreign matches – vital since Chelsea are currently second favorite for the Champions league, rated at 5/1 by Ladbrokes – Dolce&Gabbana have provided black leather trolley bags.

The Dolce look for the Chelsea boys: Hilario, Sturridge, Essien, Borini, Obi Mikel (from l-r)

Trumpeted Chelsea’s CEO Ron Gourlay: “In addition to dressing the team, Dolce&Gabbana’s comprehensive redesign of the club’s directors’ lounge and other key areas of the stadium will also serve to showcase our relationship over the next few seasons.”

In a related move, the Italian brand has also linked up with Lionel Messi, the star Argentine attacker of Europe’s number one ranked club Barcelona. In future, Messi will wear Dolce&Gabbana at all official occasions.

“I would like to thank Dolce&Gabbana for having made this collaboration possible. I have always had a preference for their sartorial style and I always loved the sophisticated image they project,” Messi explained.

True is, Lionel already made his sartorial debut in the Milan fashion house’s clothes when he picked up the Golden Boot – Europe’s most prestigious prize for an individual soccer player.

The moves confirms Dolce&Gabbana as the most soccer oriented of any major fashion label. Doubly so, seeing the house has been sponsor of the Italian National team since 2006, famously using five star players, shot in football dressing rooms, as their underwear models for several seasons.

Our only concern? Well, when we visit the Chelsea “Dolce&Gabbana Lounge” which will feature six tables for eight people, each, or a total of 48 dining guests, will the WAG's look as good as le belle donne in San Siro?