Dolce & Gabbana: Graphite and graphic; girdles and corsets

A tour de force in black from Dolce & Gabbana, and a splendidly steamy Sicilian take on sartorial chic from the design duo on a chilly Saturday in Milan.

Staged inside their Viale Piave show-space done up all-black where the cast marched out onto an elevated stairwell before descending onto the all-black catwalk.

If any menswear collection underlined how much the tide has turned against street style in menswear it was this show. In another sign of the times, most of the audience wore tailored jackets and coats.

Dolce & Gabbana can be an erratic brand. During the pandemic, their videos seemed at times like re-imaginings of old D&G youthquake collections. As if they needed saturated color for social media films. But when the right mood takes hold – and it did today – they are among the best tailors in fashion. Ever. Period.

This was one of those days, with a half-dozen suit styles, all of them stellar. From crisp, nipped at the waist vented jackets with flared pants to pencil thin lothario blazers over slimline pants to oversized eighties power-shoulder jackets and curving trousers.

The boys’ big idea this season was the manly corset or polished girdle. Worn underneath velvet tops, or seen in beige with classic white shirts or presented as a protective fencing

They also sent out several rather divine, very narrow to the ankle undertaker coats, again contrasted by billowing volume capes and massive topcoats – all dark as a winter night. One in black canvas with fur lining and attached backpack was sensational.

Everything devoid of prints, except for a mesh shirt under which appeared a color mosaic of the Virgin Mary.

For carousing, the coolest of patchwork denim loon pants; lace shorts and double belts – all in jet black, in a collection entitled 'Essence'.

“The garments designed for (this) collection represent the essence of Dolce & Gabbana. What exemplifies this essence are the purity of the volumes, the tailored cut, the innovative proportions, the selection of Italian fabrics and silks, and the craftsmanship of the fatto a mano,” said the duo in their show program, using the Italian expression for 'handmade'.

Domenico and Stefano also revived elements from their men’s fall/winter 2000 collection, along with micro shirts and double-waist belts. The whole show driven on by a great foot tapping, head bopping mashup of Monolink’s Swallow’s Tale of Us remix

For evening, the designers doused tuxedos and redingotes with showers of jagged jade and crystals, before climaxing with two pristine white suits.

“Black always provokes profoundly unique experiences and sensations, even as it is lit up by embroidered crystals in the same color that recall the wet volcanic rock of Etna and Stromboli. This is the unique essence of Dolce & Gabbana,” the gents concluded.

Dolce & Gabbana: Graphite and graphic; girdles and corsets

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