Dolce & Gabbana is preparing to launch its first couture collection, but they’re taking a cue from Tom Ford and keeping the July 9th debut under wraps.  Besides showing the line in Sicily, not Paris, only three as-yet-unnamed media outlets are invited to cover the launch.

The label is trailing its Italian brethren.  Versace re-entered the world of couture earlier this year, after an eight-year hiatus, and Armani launched its Privé line back in 2005.  As you might recall, last year Dolce & Gabbana absorbed its secondary line, D&G, into the brand’s higher-priced eponymous ready-to-wear collection.  Besides streamlining the brand’s image, was that deliberate preparation to move onward and upward?

No matter how D&G’s disappearance relates to the company’s move into couture, the two moves together represent a committed shift to highest end of fashion’s spectrum.  Dolce & Gabbana seems to be hedging its bets that the seemingly unshakeable luxury market is, in fact, untouchable.