Dolce and Gabbana celebrate their everywoman manifesto with show starring Carla Bruni and Isabella Rossellini
Dolce and Gabbana’s pan-generational casting has become a trademark– and it’s working. It turns out, surprise surprise, that women actually like seeing aspirational versions of themselves in advertising campaigns and in fashion shows, rather than a series of anonymous, meek-looking 16-year-olds.
One of the positive consequences of social media is that those demographics which previously felt excluded from the fashion conversation – whether that was because they had to dress modestly in compliance with their religions, or because they weren’t a standard fashion size zero – have been able to create their own dialogues, often engaging millions of followers in the process.
The corollary of the narcissism that runs rampant on Instagram is that “real” women of all sizes, ages and styles have learned how to dress and light themselves to look like models, only more engaging. And the clothes and bags they wear in their photos make other women want to buy similar products.
The audience at the Dolce show was almost as extravagantly dressed as those on the catwalk. One Chinese woman, in a majolica print Dolce & Gabbanna fitted sundress, paraded along the front row before the show began with her small son and daughter dressed in gold Dolce and Gabbana sequins. Another couple– male and female– turned up in matching red brocade trouser suits. There were also giant brimmed veil hats, tiaras and floor-length jewelled ball gowns.
With people watching this compelling, the show has to keep re-mapping its boundaries. This one began with the chicest funeral cortege imaginable: cue scores of women in sexy mourning. Perhaps they were lamenting the death of Stefano Gabbana’s Instagram account. A highly active, unfliltered Instagrammar, he has recently foresworn social media. “It’s become toxic,” he says. “I prefer to watch Orange is the new Black”.
Orange is the new black according to this show. But so is cobalt, emerald, daffodil and red…Entitled DNA, the collection featured all the brand’s signature silhouettes, prints and aesthetics, from ultra-vampy to androgynous tailoring.
Kitsch abounded, from butterfly-winged sunglasses and shoes with plastic grass on the inside (Gwyneth Paltrow, a keep proponent of walking “on the earth” might want to stock these on Goop) to bouncy-soled trainers (a category which now accounts for 70 per cent of their footwear sales). Alongside is a commitment to Italian craft: hand-crocheted lace trims, exquisite internal chiffon corsetry and one three-piece trouser suit composed of hand-finished tulle petals.
Using 160 models- including Carla Bruni, Ashley Graham, Maye Musk and Isabella Rossellini and her family- meant the designers could push their manifesto for everywoman: curvy, silver haired, ingenue, small. While other designers dip in and out of this pool, Dolce & Gabbana are happy in the deep end.
