Dolce & Gabbana’s sartorial love letter to 1940s Italy

It was this era, perennially cherished in the collective Italian consciousness, that was at the forefront of Domenico Dolce’s and Stefano Gabbana’s minds when they designed their new spring summer ready to wear collection.

Slim skirt suits in crochet raffia, delectable straw bucket bags decorated with pom-poms, sandals with cork or painted wood heels and “simple” cotton-poplin sun-dresses, all nodded, superficially, to Italy’s post-war period.

In reality, nothing Dolce & Gabbana does is ever entirely simple. The painted heels were additionally embellished with gold braid, sequins and jewels. The raffia had been technically re-composed to ensure it wouldn’t react like a loofa when worn against skin.

In a post modern-nod, some models, dressed as tourists-at-large-in-Italy, wore Breton-stripe cheongsams, embroidered caftans, or floral veils. Other models took selfies as they posed against a street-scene from an idyllic Italian street. These images flashed up on screens flanking the catwalk. Outside the venue, groupies engaged in a similar ritual. Safe to say, the selfie is not going away.