D&G tailors an elegant return to not-so-basics
‘Elegance is back,” declared Stefano Gabbana before the Dolce e Gabbana show, and “streetwear is dead”. It’s not really. But what he means is that the era of luxury houses basing their businesses on screechingly expensive versions of jogging pants, hoodies and sneakers is over.
Based on what we’ve seen on the catwalks during the past three weeks of shows in New York, London and Milan, he has a point. Few people in the front row are wearing sneakers.
For Dolce e Gabbana, the best way to express this return to not-so-basics is to strip away (almost) all the kitsch, ban all the social media “influencers”, fly in an English voiceover artist, plop him on a stage liberally swagged with crimson velvet curtains and have him deliver detailed descriptions of 127 looks, in the vein of Fifties couture shows. Fast fashion this was not.
There were some Fifties outfits, too – big, whooshy cobalt or emerald tulle skirts peeking beneath red or purple duster coats. But the duo’s big spotlight swivelled on what made their reputation: tailoring. A black-andwhite film showed them in their atelier, sketching, pinning, sewing.
For Domenico Dolce, suits are his first love. The pair have been refining their new women’s silhouettes with defined, slightly wider shoulders and sculpted waists. The results, if you’re in the market for some precision tailoring, were impeccable – be it a bone-simple, Wallis Simpson-style black pencil-skirt suit with a collarless jacket, or a cropped bolero in black barathea, houndstooth or brocade, finished with fedora or veiled hat.
In so far as Dolce e Gabbana do quiet and thoughtful, this was it: a reminder they’re one of the world’s best for ready-to-wear tailoring.