This year, the duo planned to expand their vision to enable the world to witness their new creative collections. Here are the highlights.
It All Began In ‘The Floating City’ of Italy…
Oh, Venice! How good it is to be back in your arms.
Rising from the waters of the Venice Lagoon is a place like no other – the Italian City of Venice. Once the world’s most significant port, protected from the swells of the Adriatic, Venetian merchants created an impossible city of incredible wealth.
Long hailed as the most breathtaking city on earth, the ‘City of Canals’ is known for its beautiful architectural buildings and picturesque surroundings.
Yes, often at times the place is packed with admirers but if you take your time exploring her elegance, she will reward you with moments of profound beauty and bliss.
“For us, Venice represents the perfect harmony of opposites that attract: it is romantic and sensual, melancholic and joyful, rational and visionary, luminous and nocturnal, sacred and profane, dark and golden,”
Dolce & Gabbana
…The Duo fashionistas, Dolce & Gabbana had an idea. An idea was so grand that it would bring Venice to a monumental halt.
Naturally, Italy is the birthplace of both Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and it was in Milano where the two started a romantic relationship.
After a few years together they decided to join hands to build one of the biggest fashion houses in the world.
Now, for almost 30 years, the designer duo has rocked the fashion world with their elaborate campaigns, celebrating Italy and its curves.
Established in 1985, Dolce & Gabbana transformed their luxury clothing company into a leading global brand.
Currently present in over 40 countries with over 250 stores, “their combined net worth is presently sitting at $5,3 billion” according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
They count the leading Hollywood elites as best friends and deliver the most delicate most luxurious garments to all who admire them.
This year, 2021, the duo planned to expand their vision to enable the world to witness their new creative collections in a unique way. They did this technique annually, but this was different.
With the frustration of having to digitally unveil their presentations since the onset of the pandemic, Dolce & Gabbana committed to going all out in the storied Italian town.
For the first time in history, the city’s St Mark’s Square played host to a fashion show.
Not only that but Dolce & Gabbana created a fashion show so grand, that it shut down central Venice for a three-day showcase extravaganza.
…It Was Time to Unveil Their New Pride & Joy To The World…
The idea was to showcase the 100-look collection within their Alta Moda, Alta Sartoria, Alta Gioielleria and Alta Orologeria collections. By presenting a range of exclusive couture looks, high jewellery and timepieces to pay homage to Italian craftsmanship.
As part of Dolce & Gabbana’s tradition to unveil each season’s collection, which they started doing back in 2012, this year they decided to feature fashion events at multiple locations in Venice.
The event, which lasted from 28-30 August, gave their pride and joy a chance to shine as a physical haute couture show, “which included several pieces that nodded to the city’s signatures, including its famed carnival masks.”
An event that covered three days of festivities to go along with the couture collection would need to be thoroughly thought out.
The question remained, just how would they pull it off?
Well, never underestimate the mighty Dolce & Gabbana as they soon fell in love with the perfect spot for the opening show.
Just outside the cities, most giant square stands the columns of San Marco and Teodoro. They stand tall and proud in the central district of San Marco. It is where you’ll find one of the world’s most fabulous squares of the Piazzetta.
It was here, under the winged lion of Venice that Dolce & Gabbana would begin the construction of the red-carpeted runway.
Because what better way to make an entrance than by entering through the traditional gateway to the city?
With the Italian fashion house and its 450 super-rich clients on the guest list, the business partners knew that this showcase was bound to turn heads.
…The Preparations Were Set, The Crowds Went still, And The Voice Of An Angel Opened The Show…
The stage was ready to go. Its construction is topped with the best red velvet carpet that money could buy. The extended runway that stretched the length of the city’s square snaked back to the centre to form a solid rectangle.
The celebrity guests all took their seats in anticipation. But first, to set the right mood, a stellar opening performance that mixed carnival with Fellini-esque storytelling left everyone gazing in ow.
Singer, Jennifer Hudson, appeared in a golden dress and belted out a spine-tingling performance of “Nessum Dorma” from Turandot and other well-known Italian opera classics.
The 20-minute performance gave everyone time to soak up the Venetian Gothic backdrop and marvel at the sheer wonder of being there.
Her stunning and soulful singing echoed around the square, putting goosebumps on everyone’s arms.
…She Called To The Stars Of The Show Who Elegantly Drift Onto Scene…
It was tense in the crowd as everyone waited in suspense to catch a glimpse of the best-dressed fashionistas arriving at the venue within minutes.
Starting their journey along Venice’s main artery – the grand canal, the water was calm and tranquil as it waited to carry its precious cargo to the Servizio pier alongside the Doge’s Palace.
The stars stand up from their red velvet seating areas, and each one is ‘gondolierd’ down the winding canals.
Hudson’s voice bounces through the walls of the square, and the echoes welcome a parade of gondolas elegantly making their way towards the roaring audience.
The ‘queens’ arrive in elaborate traditional Venetian rowing boats. Each model is dripping in jewels and draped in silks, velvets, and colourful crystals.
They step out of their silver-rimmed emerald green gondolas and walk through a crowd packed with celebrities and flashing lights.
Celebrity A-listers: Jennifer Lopez, Kris Jenner, Ciara, Spencer, Normani, Megan Thee Stallion and Heidi Klum, Kourtney Kardashian, Doja Cat and Christian Bale, Dame Helen Mirren, Spence, along with many more elite guests greet them with grace.
The crowds step aside to watch the Dolce & Gabbana models officially step into THE Alta Moda Show to star in the most extravagant fashion show in history.
Drawing from the romanticism and history of Venice, the Alta Moda collection saw glittering gowns, detailed embroidery and rich colours.
The clothes were all inspired by the locations and cultural surroundings.
With Alto Moda at the forefront, the unique tailor-made garments used high-quality fabrics, decorations, applications and embroideries with extreme attention to detail.
Every piece paid tribute to Venice, Italy.
However, something was different about this year’s event.
The runway was filled with bright, (slightly nervous-looking) young new faces.
…Among The Walking dynasties, Rose the Young Dazzling Descendants…
These celebrity kids did not come out to play.
Serving up serious style in haute couture crafted by the famed Italian fashion house, the children of Hollywood hotshots Heidi Klum, Christian Bale, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Monica Bellucci strutted their stuff on the red catwalk.
One mother, in particular, could not stop gushing over how proud she was on Instagram.
Ex-supermodel, Heidi Klum, watched her 17-year-old model-to-be daughter Leni, walk the stage in her debut show. Dressed in a royally bright blue satin ensemble topped with a sequined crown.
On Instagram, Heidi is seen ripping out her cell phone to record her daughters every move. As soon as Leni locks eyes with her gleaming mother, it was too late.
The smiles and rolling eyes from her embarrassed daughter on stage said it.
At one point Heidi even starts zooming in. Not the dreaded zoom!
Diddys three girls Chance, Jessie James and D’Lila promenaded down the catwalk too.
The teenage daughters of music artist Sean “Diddy” Combs, oozed opulence. Chance, 15, whose mother is Sarah Chapman, stunned in a shimmering mesh off-the-shoulder design with a red ribbon belt.
Deva Cassel, 16 — whose dad is French actor Vincent Cassel — shone in a magenta tulle gown embellished with 3-D flowers and bows and Christian Bales daughter, 16-year-old Emmeline Bale wore a cream-coloured illusion tulle corset dress embroidered with radiant brooches, crystals, and hand-painted organza flowers.
Her half-sisters, 12-year-old twins Jessie and D’Lila — the daughters of Diddy and model Kim Porter, who passed away in 2018 — wowed in looks tailored to their styles.
According to Page six, “the three girls made their modelling debut during Petite Parade’s 2013 Kids Fashion Week in New York.”
…Everything Was Going Smoothly When All Of A Sudden The Weather Turned…
By around 7:30 pm, just as Leni Klum was traversing the runway, a blanket of ominous clouds suddenly tugged down the skyline.
Then minutes later, plump and apparently reluctant drops of rain began to splash the marble flagstones, creating the perfect conditions for a surprise rainbow that unfolded from the roof of the Doge’s Palace and stretched towards the Lido.
Next came a ripple of sheet lightning, and then a jagged fork, and then two huge coughs of thunder, before the rain came in earnest.
Completely wonderfully, the soundtrack to all this was classic music Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” and completely, fortunately, the rain only started to fall heavily just as the designers ran down the runway to a damp standing ovation.
…A Rainbow And A Lightening Strike Ends The Show…
Dolce told Vogue:
“You know I am a Catholic so I asked the Virgin, ‘please, wait a little bit! Please!’ These were clothes—and a show—that both restored your faith in fashion and revived the joy of coming together to watch it unfold.”
Domenico Dolce
With the weather not on their side, the show comes to an end. After the event, another parade of gondola trips escorted all 450 guests to a poetic dinner at the scenic Rialto market.
…The Kings Of Fashion, Dolce & Gabbana Take Their Bow.
In the end, the three-day events were packed with things to do. From a home launch to a men’s bespoke show and even a timely high-tech moment with the introduction of the brand’s first NFTs.
The extravaganza that took place in Venice this year is one that will be remembered in fashion history forever. From natural lighting on the runway to new young faces rising to fame. It truly embraced Italian Venetian culture at its finest.
What an event!
Bravo, Dolce & Gabbana!
Catch snippets of the shows here:
ALTA MODA:
ALTA SARTORIA :
ALTA GIOIELLERIA
ALTA OROLOGERIA