Fashion Brief
It would be hard to make a case for Dolce Gabbana as being politically correct. The designers have defended Melania Trump’s choice of a $51,000 jacket, called IVF babies “synthetic”, and been accused of fat-shaming and cultural appropriation. Yet they have become Milan fashion week’s greatest champions of diversity.
The veteran Italian actors Monica Bellucci and Isabella Rossellini, the plus-size model Ashley Graham, and Emma Weymouth, the first black viscountess in Britain, were included in a model line-up that celebrated glamour beyond the catwalk norm.
But this being Dolce Gabbana, the core message was less about politics or ethics than it was a reminder that pretty much everyone looks incredible in a beautifully-constructed black lace cocktail dress, or a tailored evening suit, or layers of floral or leopard print tulle draped over a bodiced slip. Which, funnily enough, are exactly the clothes that Dolce Gabbana do brilliantly.
If Ralph Lauren sells the American dream, Dolce Gabbana touts the Italian one, with red roses and gold Madonnas, tablecloth-bright fruit prints and sultry black lace.
This was showcased on a broad range of characters: same-sex couples, babies in arms, a bride who wore white trainers under her frothy gown and gold headphones instead of a tiara. On the soundtrack was Luciano Pavarotti singing La Traviata, but the rapper Cardi B was guest of honour on the front row.
