Alta Moda is Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s magnum opus. Through its medium, the design duo brings to life the timeless elegance of Italy’s couture shows of the 1950s. Having staged Alta Moda presentations in their native Italy since 2012, they’ve also debunked the myth that Paris is the sole home of haute couture.
The duo proudly states that their brand’s DNA has three indivisible strands: Italy, love and the family. It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that when I speak to them ahead of the autumn/winter 2014 Alta Moda show, which was held in July on the Italian island of Capri, the pair refers to it in familial terms.
“Alta Moda is our last child, and she’s a complicated child,” says Dolce with a wry smile.
“No, not complicated,” defends Gabbana. “Just a very special child.”
At the show, “special” translated to 80 unique pieces, which were six months in the making, culminating in an exclusive presentation for 200 valued clients and the most famous fashion editors in the world. The event was a strictly paparazzi-free zone, which saw the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and the model Eva Herzigová mingle with Crown Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece.
The flora and fauna of romantic and rugged Capri provided much inspiration for the designers. “We always knew we wanted to make a show here because we really love the place,” explains Dolce. “We used plenty of greens, aquamarines, navy and lemon – the colours of Capri.”
Capri has long been a playground for the rich and famous, and the island’s draw for global glitterati was borne out in the collection. “It’s full of colour, with bathing suits and furs, hand-painted flowers and rich jewellery – it captures the essence of the island,” says Gabbana. “We took inspiration from women such as Brigitte Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Maria Callas.”
Some of the most heart-pounding pieces were a nod to another lady acclaimed for her style and beauty – the late queen consort of Iran, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari. “She was the most elegant lady; she used to often come to Capri and she was a big inspiration for us,” says Gabbana. “For sure, you will recognise our ‘Regina Soraya’ when you see her tonight.”
And so it was, as the sun set on a balmy Caprese evening and guests took their seats along the al fresco, sea-sprayed runway, Soraya’s muse made her entrance.
Overcoming the rolling swell and jagged dolomite cliffs of the inlet, the model glided off a traditional gozzi boat and straight onto the causeway catwalk. She was resplendent in a corseted crinoline ballgown of vibrant hand-painted majolica; reminiscent of Renaissance Italian ceramics. Upon her head, a solid gold crown bearing glinting rubies, emeralds and sapphires.
Much like the opera music that filled the air, the pieces that followed wooed and enchanted the crowd. Jewel-toned fur adorned sandalled boots while sequinned landscape-fresco tops, chinchilla coats and sable-lined lynx capes had clients reaching for their phones to place orders.
Dolce’s particular favourite was a black A-line dress, unapologetically bold with appliqué flowers in crimson, mustard and cobalt, embellished with pom-poms and bells to the cuffs and hem. It added a jocular element to the show as the gamine model wove her way around the rocky runway, jingling in time with the music.
Island escapism was interspersed with classic Dolce & Gabbana numbers in cream and black lace with provocative peekaboo panels, while the rarest of vintage fabrics had been crafted into electric blue and Lincoln green sheath dresses.
Dangling from the ears and arms of Dolce & Gabbana’s alabaster-skinned beauties were gold-cast yellow-diamond lemons and ruby-studded strawberries. The fruity offerings were only marginally upstaged by haute joaillerie necklaces, weighted with corals, turquoise and diamond-encrusted symbols of buona fortuna, such as four-leaf clovers.
After a sumptuous dinner, fireworks burst to the strains of O Surdato 'nnammurato, prompting the well-heeled guests to dance the night away and toast their genial hosts.
It was indeed a dream realised for the designers, who crafted the show much like a director would a film.
“It’s all very dreamlike, it’s very Fellini,” says Gabbana “This is not just a fashion show, not remotely the same as we’d do for prêt-à-porter. We want to fuel people’s imagination. To do that, we need to provide something sensational. It’s not just about the clothes, it’s the ambience, the music, the girls – everything.”
Dolce and Gabbana’s nostalgia for Alta Moda and the glamour of a bygone era reflects surprisingly little of the way they live today. Granted, there are the properties and playthings that come with having created a fashion empire worth an estimated US$5.3 billion (Dh19.5b), according to Bloomberg. However, it’s the simple creature comforts after which the designers hanker.
“I very much like the ordinary life,” says Dolce. “I love cooking for people, I love cleaning and organising the house. If you want to rearrange the furniture or flowers, I’m the man for the job. I would be a happy housewife.”
Dolce’s one indulgence, along with a Sicilian dessert called cassata, is collecting art.
“I have a very special relationship with my paintings. I talk with them,” he says. “I love them all. It’s not about their value, it’s how they’ve each represented special times in my life.”
Gabbana echoes Dolce’s sentiments, saying his existence is a far cry from the high-octane lives of the maison’s richest clients. His greatest pleasure is derived from daily contact with his family, whizzing around Milan on his red Vespa and caring for the three dogs he shares with Dolce. He’s quick to add, however, that their pet pooches are far from fashion victims.
“Our dogs don’t own one coat between them,” Gabbana states emphatically “They have a nice life, but they live as dogs. Dogs are dogs.”
The twosome’s characters are something of an equilibrium and the synergy between them is palpable, even though Dolce is the more pensive and intense of the two, while Gabbana is the exuberant entertainer.
Domenico Dolce was born in 1958 in Sicily; Stefano Gabbana in 1962 in Milan. They first met while working for the designer Giorgio Correggiari and joined forces to establish their eponymous label in 1985.
It was their fourth collection, shown in the late 1980s, that proved a turning point and their so-called Sicilian Dress was hailed, by the fashion editor and author Hal Rubenstein, as one of the 100 most unforgettable ever designed.
Henceforth, their womenswear was epitomised by curve-enhancing corseted styles in bold animal prints, angelic white dentelle and everything in between.
In the years that followed, the label grew beyond high-end apparel, to encompass leather goods, footwear and accessories, cosmetics and fragrances. The 1990s accelerated the brand at warp speed with the launch of menswear and countless accolades accrued, including an Oscar des Parfums award for Best Male Perfume for their first fragrance – the first time that the French award was given to an Italian brand.
During that time, the celebrity clients came thick and fast, and Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Beyoncé were among the many songbirds to commission the duo for their tour costumes.
In 2012, D&G – the diffusion line – merged with the parent entity, Dolce & Gabbana, to consolidate the brand. And although the group is now present in more than 40 countries worldwide, including in the UAE, the designers remain hungry and humble.
“Every day, every season, we have to keep things moving forward,” muses Dolce. “We don’t ever think we’ve arrived or that we’re always right. It’s just one more step in the right direction, and soon enough it will be time to test and prove things again.”
rduane@thenational.ae