GCDS

GCDS is an Italian fashion line. The name stands for Giuliano Calza Design Studio.

History

GCDS was founded in 2015 by brothers Giuliano and Giordano Calza in Milan, Italy. The first pieces of clothing developed by the line were sweatshirts with the GCDS logo on the front.[1] There were only 100 sweatshirts made in the first attempt. At the time the shirts were made in China, however the line is now made entirely in Italy.[2] Initially the company only sold its products online, before being picked up by retail locations.[3]

Company overview

Giuliano Calza is the label's creative director, and Giordano Calza is the label's chief executive officer.[4] In 2016 GCDS opened its first flagship store in Piazza Gae Aulenti.[1] In 2017 sales for the company reached €5 million,[4] growing to €10 million in 2018, and in 2018 its clothing was available in about 350 retail locations.[5] The company has store locations in Italy, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Beijing.[6]

The brand name is more commonly known as “Giuliano Calza Design Studio”, "God Can't Destroy Streetwear", "Girls Can Desire Sex" “Giuliano Calza Does SpongeBob”,

Collections

Soon after founding, the company expanded its clothing items to include t-shirts, jackets,[5] raincoats, and other garments. It now creates a Spring/Summer line,[7] Men's wear line,[8] Fall/Winter line, its "Skater or die" collection, and some limited edition collaborations, such as its “Made in LA” line.[2] They also create accessories[9] and in 2018 they released their first children's wear collection GCDS Mini.[10] GCDS exhibits its new seasons at Milan Fashion Week,[1] and has shown at the New York Fashion Week as well.[2] The 2019 Spring/Summer collection was inspired by a science fiction motif, specifically the 1980s and 1990s, in addition to cartoons and manga.[7] As a part of the runway show, some models walking the catwalk were fitted with a third prosthetic breast.[11]

In 2019 GCDS released a line of lipsticks called GCDS Beauty, which included a lipstick called THC and which contains a PH reagent that causes a chemical color change in the lips.[12]

In November 2021, the label launched a collection in collaboration with Bratz.[13][14]

In March 2022, the label collaborated with One Piece for its Spring/Summer 2022 collection.[15]

In 2025, GCDS partnered with Mattel to release a limited-edition Polly Pocket-inspired fashion line." [16]

References

  1. Di Valentina Nuzzi. In viaggio con GCDS → I 5 indirizzi del cuore di Giuliano Calza di GCDS da segnare in agenda ELLE, 9 April 2018^
  2. Un'intervista esclusiva a Giuliano Calza di GCDS Vogue Italia, 4 July 2017^
  3. The Street Style Star-Approved Brand That Won't Break the Bank Allure, 15 November 2016^
  4. Giuliano Calzais One of the 500 People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry in 2018 The Business of Fashion^
  5. The Next 100 Italy: Giuliano Calza MFFashion.com, 2018-09-22, retrieved 2022-08-08^
  6. FashionNetwork com WW. GCDS: A fashionable immigrant story in reverse FashionNetwork.com, retrieved 2022-07-25^
  7. Three Breasts Are Better Than Two, Apparently 10 daily, 25 September 2018^
  8. GCDS – Spring Summer 2018 – Men Fashion Shows – Vogue.it www.vogue.it^
  9. Di Angelo Ruggeri. Giuliano Calza: "Ecco perché tutti amano lo streetwear" Esquire, 4 May 2018^
  10. Martino Carrera. GCDS Introduces Children's Wear Women's Wear Daily, 14 June 2018^
  11. Emma Baty. So Um, Models with Three Breasts Just Walked the Runway at Milan Fashion Week Cosmopolitan, 24 September 2018^
  12. Roisin Lanigan, SAGG Napoli. giuliano calza unveils gcds beauty, its new and colorful project Vice, 12 November 2018^
  13. Giuliano Calza's GCDS and Bratz Unveil New Collab Collection That Puts Emphasis on Inclusive Fashion Complex, retrieved 2021-12-29^
  14. Passion for fashion! Bratz get a whole new look courtesy of GCDS Dazed, 2021-12-01, retrieved 2021-12-29^
  15. 'One Piece' x GCDS Is for the Die-Hard Manga Fans HYPEBEAST, 2022-03-28, retrieved 2022-07-25^
  16. Mattel x Polly Pocket x GCDS Collaboration: Limited Edition 2025 Casawi, July 2025, retrieved 19 July 2025^