Show Report
The dynamic duo travelled to back to their roots: a deep, dark vision of the Southern Italian woman, steeped in religion and potently sexual.
Where to start with Dolce e Gabbana? Provocative gender politics aside, the Italian duo certainly know how they like their women: crimson-lipped, Catholic and bombastically curvaceous. This season, the dynamic duo travelled to back to their roots: a deep, dark vision of the Southern Italian woman, steeped in religion and potently sexual. Brooding introspection? Forget about it! This was an excuse for Dolce e Gabbana to do what they do very best: unabashed, unadulterated, smouldering sex-pot, with models dressed to undress, teetering on high heels and decidedly cinched at the waist. The old idea of underwear-as-outerwear - namely that even older idea, the corset - has been a feature of many a collection for S/S 2010 but never to quite D&G's shameless degree. Dresses in rose-strewn silk or scarlet leopard were stretched drum-tight over formidable boned bustiers and bra-seamed at the bosom, or else the corsets simply came out alone, in black or white lace accompanied by brief skirts or big knickers (it was toss-a-coin time to calculate which covered more). Even when the duo did ostensible menswear, with crisp shirts and Conquistador-styled jodhpur suits in finely patterned wool, they were built on a wasp-waisted foundation that left no doubt as to who really wears the trousers. If it wasn't so gloriously well-executed, it would all have been a bit much - but after a good twenty-five years in the business, Domenico and Stefano know when too far is just far enough. This collection was all about Dolce e Gabbana good, proper and true, namely those early 1990s shows when D&G trussed supermodels in girdles and bras like postmodern Anna Magnanis. Indeed, those seam-straining black lace or crochet frocks and baroque rosary jewellery - the pulling gear of a four-time Sicilian widow back on the razz - could have come straight from one of those old shows. But when it looks so damn good second time round, you don't see me complaining.
