They may be put on trial by the country that’s always been at the heart of their work, but Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are not forsaking their beloved Italy. With maximum security on hand (everyone had to show ID to get in), the designers showed their womenswear take on Spring/Summer 2014’s nostalgic Sicily collection at the Metropol building in Milan on Sunday afternoon. Scored by a medley of swinging Fellini soundtracks, the designers jazzed up the collection’s foundation of Greek temple ruin prints and almond tree florals with more than a little Antique World pizzazz. Gold coin prints on dresses and translucent materials appeared alongside gilded Aphrodite headpieces and Greek goddess gold belts. Metallics are of course an all-time historical specialty of Dolce & Gabbana’s so in season made of things that shine the designers were something of a step ahead. Heavily textured gold dresses had an armour-like feel to them, while the finale’s delicate gold lace dresses looked like something out of cathedral ceiling.
But the collection also featured gentle reminders of Dolce & Gabbana’s innate Italian skill for sexiness and the kind of dresses that really do make women look like goddesses, for instance in a curvaceous black number worn by Catherine McNeil, who, on a side note, is completely ruling the season. Perhaps the collection was a demonstration of love for a country by which they feel betrayed, or maybe it was a melancholy trip to a place that reminds them of better days. Either way, one message came through loud and clear: Dolce & Gabbana ain’t going nowhere.
