Dolce & Gabbana is in tribute mode. Who were they saluting?
As they probably won't ever be invited by Jean Paul Gaultier to guest-design JPG's sole-surviving couture line, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana took it upon themselves to offer what could be a tribute to the French designer, by way of Madonna during her Blonde Ambition World Tour of 1990. The singer, who was the last to arrived and to standing ovation, was in the audience (seated next to the seen-everywhere Naomi Campbell); she lapped up the looks based on the pointy bra cups that she was very familiar with, including the blonde, short, corkscrew curls of all the models. She was veiled like a Sicilian widow and crowned like a fantasy Queen. At the end of the show and after the customary bow, the two designers spotted their figure of inspiration from the elevated runway, stepped down and hugged her and kissed her hands—as if receiving blessings from the Material Madonna.
The show, dubbed Italian Beauty, opened with a tableaux of a dozen models posing dramatically on a curved staircase installed at the rear of the runway. Even from the distance, it was discernible who and what Mr Dolce and Mr Gabbana were honouring. Astonishingly, it would turn out that every look in the collection was based on or featured the conoidal undergarment, although it appeared infrequently under. It featured prominently on corsets, peeked unshyly from necklines of dresses or from the hem of cropped tops, squeezed dauntlessly between openings of blazers, or poked purposefully from beneath sheer, as well as soft bodices. Just as Madonna "repurposed" the bra as symbol of female empowerment by adopting one with exaggerated shape back then, D&G continued to normalise the exposed bra by not promoting it as concealed undergarment and affirming that boudoir looks are good enough for public consumption, even when there are calls to and the practice of dispensing with it.
Yet, the silhouettes of the garments were more of those from the '50s (including the generally one shape of the bra), evocative of the heydays of Italian fashion, during which Hollywood stars were often photographed in Rome, than the '90s, when one pop star was taking the world by storm. This appear to be another homage—the output of Dolce & Gabbana since its birth in 1985 and their love for the ultra-feminine and over-ornamented, widowed by the rise of the oversized, masculine attire. It was their Italian beauty . The clothes were mostly body-skimming, curvaceous, and radiating sexuality, which, again, can be traced back to Madonna. But after a while, even with 58 looks, the ideas became repetitive—each outfit was a challenge-to-themselves: How many more ways can we incorporate the bra obviously into outfits that sing with gusto Italiano?
Even up to last year, D&G was trying to rehabilitate their image in China after the disastrous social media campaign of 2018, when the call for the boycott of the brand was strident, and they had to cancel a fashion show in Shanghai at the last minute. It is not clear if they have achieved significant results to restore the confidence of Chinese consumers. The Madonna association for spring/summer 2025 might improve things for D&G, even a smidgen, if only because the pop star has not upset the Chinese with shenanigans that seemingly mock their culture or choice of eating implements. Many Western stars continue to support Dolce & Gabbana, and are willing to accept the brand that did have a past insensitive to race and sexuality. The brand is unique in that despite the casualisation of fashion everywhere, even the minimalising, they continue to churn out, over-the-top, in-your-face looks that appeal to the many, many famous fans for whom subtlety has no meaning nor value.
Screen shot (top) dolcegabbana/YouTube. Photos: Dolce & Gabbana
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