Rigour (still) sells at the Italian house, while offering levity and a modern nod to the past for AW25.
IT IS unclear whether aficionados (both starlet and civilian) of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s AW collection will care that the muted colours and faux fur are based on Fellini’s La Dolce Vita – they’ll likely just be happy to have more imminently wearable garb.
The designers expanded to additional categories, emphasising double-breasted suiting and tux-inspired tailored pieces—also worthy of attention.
Titled Paparazzi, this season epitomised the figure of a photographer in search of exclusive and unrepeatable moments in the lives of actors: the stars are immortalised in their everyday lives, between limelight and fragments of intimacy.
This fascinating world is at the centre of the new collection which explores both the public and private sides of the film icons. It materialises the allure in the character of the contemporary man through looks that tell the story of the actors’ lifestyle from dawn to dusk and from the comfort of leisure time to the elegance of the red carpet.
Some of the simplest propositions here were the most compelling: an oversized black button-down edged in a dusty-tinged hue and a denim bomber that, on closer inspection, was decked with fur trimmings. They were at once charming and sinister—just like Margiela’s finely sculpted tailoring at Pitti Uomo in Florence, which had a slightly darker edge too.
Despite a season in which the designers’ merry-go-round continues spinning with increasingly capricious pace, this was a cohesive lineup overall. A cohesion that came stitched in its entirety, along with a retro-looking depiction of elegance and 1960s poise.
Most beautiful of all was on the breezy back panel of a satin shirt; the undersides of its seams came softly cut in a nod to Italy. The designers resisted other direct references in favour of that and the dash of elegance of those past times.
by Chidozie Obasi