CULTURE TRIP
For their Alta Moda autumn/ winter ’19 show, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana returned home to Sicily, revisiting the well-worn path of their past in search of a new beginning. By Edwina McCann.
For their Alta Moda show, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana returned home to Sicily, revisiting the past in search of a new beginning.
ON THE SOUTHWEST
of Sicily, atop a hill in Agrigento, the Temple of Concordia imposed its ancient history upon 400 or so of Dolce & Gabbana’s couture clients, VIPs and editors. The setting for the Italian label’s autumn/winter ’19 Alta Moda (haute couture) show happens to be Domenico Dolce’s native region, and is a marked departure from Mexico City or Tokyo, where the 1985-founded Milanese house staged its 2018 and 2017 Alta Moda shows respectively. As the carefully chosen cohort gathered, the well-preserved remains of the surrounding Valley of the Temples, set the scene for a spiritual homecoming.
The travelling show has been to Sicily before, though to the more wellknown and well-trod Taormina. This time the locale felt even more farflung. The multi-day affair brought together Dolce and Gabbana’s wellshod friends from all corners of the world, the designers inviting attendees to venture to another significant outpost that has served as inspiration for the house.
Over four days, guests (many of whom arrive by superyacht) are welcome to take in the offerings of the house’s three luxury tiers – Alta Gioielleria (high jewellery), Alta Moda (women’s couture collection) and Alta Sartoria (men’s couture collection) – and to visit a pop-up boutique to outfit themselves for every event.
For their 2019 instalment, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana seized the former city-state settled by the ancient Greeks to pay homage to their deities in situ, and to cultivate an appreciation for the legacy of the brand that might enter into the annals of a place so steeped in history.
As if to emphasise the feeling that this was an event held away from the reaches of media glare, the event felt intimate, and Gabbana himself was off social media – the label looking to move away from past controversies that played out on these platforms not so long ago.
The festivities were rung in at nearby Palma di Montechiaro, where the designers unveiled their latest collection of Alta Gioielleria. For this collection, Paraiba tourmalines, tanzanite and diamonds in intricate settings gleamed extravagantly and hinted that womenswear, revealed the next day, might conjure a similar effect.
Indeed, the following evening a golden sunset ushered in models led by Helena Christensen, Jessica Stam and Bianca Balti, as 126 looks were displayed atop the steps of the Temple of Concordia. Against a tide of harpists, whose music added to the air of antiquity, dresses meticulously embroidered by Italian artisans with images of Athena and Aphrodite brushed up against gold gladiator sandals, with shields, bows and arrows carried by hands that flashed delicately in the light. And while laurel wreaths and headpieces adorned with Doric columns gestured to the past, the use of drapery grounded the collection, making it relevant for today. As darkness fell, dinner was hosted at the Giunone Temple.
For the concluding Alta Sartoria show, scheduled for the next day, Dolce and Gabbana guided guests through town to Palazzo Dei Gesuiti, where dancers dressed in ethereal white performed. Afterwards, male models in sequinned tunics and trousers with inlaid belts decorated in Hellenic motifs, appeared to step straight out of ancient Athens.
Gabbana revealed that this year’s event had a personal resonance for himself and Dolce. “Everything comes from our hearts, not from a CEO,” he told journalists. “We are spontaneous. We make what we want. Alta Moda is an expression of this. It’s an experience. We want to share with you our hearts.”
After circling the globe each year for its annual Alta Moda iterations, 2019 may signal Dolce and Gabbana’s turn towards introspection.
The interplay of the ephemeral and the eternal on display, the ancient temples and the solitary structures on a Sicilian hillside seemed to mirror this: all still standing in the face of passing time. Perhaps there is always merit in looking back in order to move forwards.