‘The worst time for us was when we broke up but kept working together,’ Gabbana told the Financial Times. ‘We thought about splitting up, but no. And the truth is, everything is exactly the same. But no sex! …I can’t work without him.’

The designers have worked together for 30 years, 23 of which they spent as romantic partners. They ended their relationship in 2005 and have moved on to achieve even greater success in the fashion industry.

Dolce and Gabbana’s expansion plans are considerable: they plan to open 30 stores in China over the next two years, along with others in Brazil and the US.

‘But we don’t want money,’ Dolce said when asked whether the designers would ever go public. ‘Tomorrow we could change our minds if we needed it to expand but, at the moment, we don’t. We do need to grow a bit more. We have a lot of plans.’