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.
