Kim Kardashian debuts Dolce & Gabbana collection and other Milan Fashion Week highlights

Reality TV star curated a new collection for the Italian fashion house, taking inspiration from 20 years of archival looks

From left, Stefano Gabbana, Kim Kardashian and Domenico Dolce attend the end of their spring/Summer 2023 show during the Milan Fashion Week, in Italy, on September 2022. EPA

Models present creations by Dolce & Gabbana for spring/summer 2023. EPA

The collection is presented against the backdrop of a film showing Kardashian, styled as a Hollywood starlet, eating a plate of pasta. EPA

Kim Kardashian took Milan by storm on Saturday, curating a new collection for Dolce & Gabbana that took inspiration from 20 years of archival looks. EPA

Kardashian adhered to a mostly neutral palette. EPA

Kardashian’s curation showed her full embrace of Dolce & Gabbana’s Italian roots. EPA

Lingerie strongly inspired the collection. EPA

There were corsets, incorporated bras and bodysuits, employing all of the designer’s best tricks. EPA

From rigid bones for structural elements, to pretty lace and eye-catching crystals. EPA

Black, grey and beige, with some burgundy, made an appearance. EPA

Kardashian drew the line at prints, completely rejecting the brand’s fruits and florals. EPA

A splash of red. EPA

Kardashian went all in with the leopard print. AFP

A model presents another leopard-print creation. AFP

The collection was designed with women of all ages and shapes in mind. EPA

The goal was to simplify designs to help some of the more ornate pieces feel less intimidating. AFP

Kardashian’s mother, three of her children and sister Khloe sat in the front row. AFP

Kim Kardashian’s love of Dolce & Gabbana goes way back, and the affection showed in her curation of their latest collection, drawing on archival looks from 1987 to 2007. AFP

Standing out in white. AFP

Kardashian remembers growing up watching her mother dress in Dolce & Gabbana for date nights. AFP

Even the Kardashian family dogs were named Dolce and Gabbana. AFP

Sleek silhouettes and structural elements on show. AFP

When Kardashian and her sisters owned a store, she borrowed her father’s credit card to buy a bunch of D&G dresses, jeans and belts before her paycheck came in. AFP

Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce (R) and Stefano Gabbana acknowledge applause with US media personality Kim Kardashian at the end of the presentation of Dolce & Gabbana's Women's Spring Summer 2023 fashion collection on September 24, 2022 as part of the Fashion Week in Milan. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

Models make their way down the runway. AP Photo

A guest, wearing Dolce & Gabbana logo earrings, ahead of the show. LaPresse via AP

Guests flooded to see the collection. LaPresse via AP

Only the most well-dressed patrons arrived. LaPresse via AP

A guest arrives in a striking red outfit. LaPresse via AP

Kim Kardashian took Milan by storm on Saturday, curating a new collection for Dolce & Gabbana that took inspiration from 20 years of archival looks.

It was a day of debuts at Milan Fashion Week, including Maximilian Davis, a British designer aged 27 with Afro-Caribbean roots, at the creative helm of Salvatore Ferragamo and Filipino-American designer Rhuigi Villasenor at Bally, as the brand returns to the runway for the first time in 20 years.

Here are some of the highlights.

Kim Kardashian for Dolce & Gabbana

Kim Kardashian’s love of Dolce & Gabbana goes way back, and the affection showed in her curation of their latest collection, drawing on archival looks from 1987 to 2007.

She remembers growing up watching her mother dress in the designer brand for date nights with her stepfather, recalling “she always looked so smart and so strong”.

Even the family dogs were named Dolce and Gabbana. Gabbana was a black labrador, Dolce a tiny chihuahua.

“It is very close to reality,’’ Stefano Gabbana quipped in a presentation for the new collection.

But no matter how hard she tried, even sending her mother, Kris Jenner, to help make her case, the designers refused to open their archives. “The past is the past,’’ Domenico Dolce explained. “We try to go ahead with the new generation.”

That is, until Kardashian proved she had the right stuff.

When Kourtney Kardashian married Travis Barker in Italy in May this year, social media swarmed with the vintage Dolce & Gabbana dresses that she and her sisters wore. They were all from Kim Kardashian’s private collection, which she accrued with the help of a book of more than 100 desired Dolce & Gabbana looks she and her stylist compiled years before.

Dolce said the wedding photos persuaded them to dig into the archives, and he approached Kardashian about the project.

“We were afraid that the vintage dresses would look old. Instead, they were still contemporary,’’ Dolce said.

And so, the new spring/summer 2023 collection was born, with the designers selecting looks from the past that they loved, many with memories attached to working with models such as Linda Evangelista and Monica Bellucci. Kardashian curated from there.

“After all these years, this is all of the stuff we would wear today," Kardashian said. “As a designer, I would just think that is so cool, to see everyone trying to emulate the looks. And why not do a full collection, obviously with some new pieces in there, but just reimagined in a way that we would wear it today, which is so similar to how it was shot and worn back then.”

Dolce and Gabbana presented their spring/summer 2023 collection against the backdrop of a film showing Kardashian, styled as a starlet, sensually eating a plate of pasta.

Kardashian’s curation showed her full embrace of Dolce & Gabbana’s Italian roots.

Lingerie strongly inspired the collection. There were corsets, incorporated bras and bodysuits, employing all of the designer’s best tricks, from rigid bones for structural elements, to pretty lace and eye-catching crystals. They were worn with gartered stockings and long gloves, or under beautiful wraps.

Kardashian adhered to a mostly neutral palette: black, grey and beige, with some burgundy. And she drew the line at prints, completely rejecting the brand’s fruits and florals.

But the reality TV and social media star went all in on the leopard. “I would say the boys brought out the leopard in me," Kardashian said. “I think you will see that for me, colour is the crystals.’’

The collection was designed with women of all ages and shapes in mind, Kardashian said, with the goal of simplifying designs to help some of the more ornate pieces feel less intimidating.

“If you simplify it, more people can feel confident wearing it. And I think we really achieved that in the show,” she said.

Kardashian’s mother, three of her four children and sister Khloe sat in the front row. Proud mama Kris Jenner filmed the entire show on her phone.

Jil Sander's tranquility

Jil Sander created a tranquil island in Milan’s chaotic fashion week, filling a temporary show space in a distant field with a thicket of wildflowers and grasses, along with soothing pastels and forgiving silhouettes.

The collection lends itself to easy layering and defies all gender stereotypes. Creative directors Lucie and Luke Meier continued to dabble in embellishments, adding sequins, feathers and metallic accents to the brand’s minimalist silhouette.

Sleeveless suiting worked across genders, and men wore long pastel kilts with button-down shirts. Knitwear was distressed, with rough edges and slits, in both tops and dresses. The designers chose a single print, featuring blurry points of light.

Models carried umbrellas to protect the looks from the seasonal rainfall — inconvenient for an outdoor show but welcome in Italy after months of drought.

Salvatore Ferragamo's new dawn

Maximilian Davis created a vermilion red background for his Salvatore Ferragamo debut in the courtyard of a 17th-century Baroque and Neoclassical palace — all the better to highlight the fashion house’s new direction.

The British designer worked in strong silhouettes and simple elements, such as tank tops and leggings, or full-on bodysuits, all the better to highlight the bag of the season, and oversized cutout bags in highly polished leather with a canvas interior. Dresses were slinky in solid colours or flowing chiffon in degradé prints; a red trouser and skin-tight top combo popped with crystals. Strappy sandals featured a distinctive circular heel.

The male silhouette was challenged with an off-shoulder, sheer ombre dyed top, the colours an homage to the California sunset. Davis tapped Ferragamo’s leather heritage with boyishly short leather shorts paired with a leather blazer. Any male divo can make a red-carpet entrance with a silver sheer off-shoulder top that flows dramatically into a trailing scarf.

Models trod across red sand that covered the entire courtyard, a reference to Ferragamo’s Hollywood origins near the California beaches, and Davis’s own Caribbean heritage.

The sea and the sand mean to him "a place where you can go to reflect, and feel at one", he said. "I wanted to show that perspective, but now through the Ferragamo lens.”

Supermodel Naomi Campbell turned out for the show.

Bally rebooted

Filipino-American designer Villasenor, best known for his US streetwear brand, is seeking to drive a transition at the storied Swiss brand Bally, founded in 1851.

His debut collection paid tribute to the brand’s heritage of quiet elegance while introducing an edge. A plunging V-neck swimsuit was worn with snakeskin boots, while a long beaded skirt featured a waist-high slit and was paired casually with a denim top. For him, a flashy reptile leather jacket was worn with a mesh top and jeans, but there was also a dark blue double-breasted suit for more formal business occasions.

Villasenor said he was inspired by “the brand’s codes around art, graphic design, architecture and nature”.

Bottega Veneta's tromp l'oeiel

To the uninitiated, Kate Moss looked downright dressed down on the Bottega Veneta runway, in a pair of loose jeans and a plaid shirt. But that is the genius of designer Matthieu Blazy, who replayed a trick from his first season, showing leather pants that replicate the look of jeans.

Every piece in Blazy’s sophomore collection was strong: from the intarsia knitwear that had ice blue and red vying for the starring role, to the leather shift dresses and jackets with unexpected folds, to the shredded leather skirts and dresses, and sheer dresses embellished with velvety floral appliques.

At Bottega Veneta, leather is king. Bags include beautifully crafted fishing bags that fit neatly on the body, either in flat leather or a basket weave, to bucket bags worn flung over the shoulder.

Blazy collaborated with Italian architect and designer Gaetano Pesce on the sculptural resin runway and 400 unique chairs, some with hand drawings, used for guests at the show and destined for Design Miami.

Models with Arab heritage hit the runway for Versace, including Gigi Hadid and Nora Attal — in pictures