With one outlet in Mumbai and another in the works in Delhi, Stefano Gabbana, part owner of the Italian label Dolce & Gabbana, visits India for the first time and finds himself floored by the subcontinent's colours and people. Of all the power labels making an entry into the country, the very contemporary D & G may prove to be the most potent, notes Shirin Mehta, who met up with Gabbana, on his fly-through in Mumbai

Can you imagine the G in Italian super-sexy luxury label, Dolce & Gabbana, riding a tuk-tuk through a narrow Jaipur bylane or jumping onto a camel cart laden with produce for the local market? Well, you better believe that those were the highlights of 43-year-old Stefano Gabbana's flying visit through Jaipur and Udaipur and a hurried couple of hours in Mumbai where he met quickly and exclusively with Verve. He is tall, lanky and resplendent in carefully ripped, V-fly jeans, naturally and prominently with the D & G branding. He excitedly opens the collar of his black fitted shirt to expose a collection of chains, neatly hidden and revealing an exuberant, much-travelled aura. Pride of place is one in thick gold that he recently acquired, a design from South India with a traditional and primitive hook to hold the ends together. Nestled together are a mother-of-pearl cross from Ibiza in Spain, harking back to the predominantly Catholic character of the fashion label's early sensibilities. A chilli-shaped pendant in coral, from Italy where he hails, finishes his little collection. By all accounts, a tattoo mounted with a little cross, graces the back of his browned neck. His large feet are ensconced in intricately patterned mojris, 'one of ten pairs that he has just acquired,' laughs Valentina Pedroni, former model, Milan socialite and presently donning the mantle of sophisticated India-guide. As he raises the shredded hem of his jeans, I spy the traditional silver anklet that nestles there, wholly at home on this very Italian persona.

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