An opulent retrospective of the house’s palatial fashion legacy.
There is an on-the-downlow debate amongst sartorial enthusiasts on whose style is indeed more stylish, the French or the Italian? Both cultures are powerhouses and have their signature hallmarks that the world has come to identify as either staggeringly French chic (inconspicuous cool attained by rigorous haute standards) or sumptuous Italian flare (an embrace of extravagance through exacting tailoring.) And as any fashion aficionado worth their Mongolian cashmere will cross-their-heart and attest to, there is no catfight to be had as both styles respond to our most basic query during decision making time in front of our wardrobes: How do I want to feel today? Detached and unattainable with a red lip or luxury heritage with a gold chain? Both.
The Dolce and Gabbana “Du Cœur à la Main” (From the Heart to the Hands) travelling retrospective emphasizes the significance of this truce. A colossal celebration of Domenico Dolce’s and Stefano Gabbana’s joyous contribution to fashion, the exhibition is currently being showcased in the Grand Palais in Paris, which in itself is considered a monument of fashion, with Chanel committing to be an exclusive patron for another 5 years.
Du Cœur à la Main unfurls into thematic rooms that display handpicked creations that induce sharp intakes of breath from Dolce and Gabbana’s Alta Moda (fashion), Alta Sartoria (tailoring) and Alta Gioielleria (jewelry) collections. Heavy, black, velvet curtains ensconce and astonishingly block off the noise from one room to the next. And similar to theatrical acts unrolling in front of you, one strolls through twelve lavish and thoughtfully produced mise-en-scenes with individual soundtracks; Fatto a Mano, Architecture and Artists, Dream of Divinity, Divine Mosaics, Sicilian Traditions, White Baroque, Devotion, Italian Ornaments and Volumes, The Leopard, In the Heart of Milan (if I may indulge myself to a favorite, this would be it), Opera, and The Art and Craft of Glasswork.
Curated by Florence Müller, a professor in fashion history at the Grand Ecole of Fashion in Paris, author of a number of books on fashion, is renowned in the industry for her curatorial and editorial strengths. Müller’s particular French fashion intelligence, deliberate and meticulous, is just as prominently exhibited in this show through the production she has masterfully orchestrated. For instance, in one space visitors can see the house’s couturiers busy at their craft. It is beauty at work. A live tableau that imparts a sentiment, a comprehension that one is observing an opulent and esoteric form of engineering.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s true virtuosity lies in their enduring loyalty to their Sicilian roots and their archetypical Italian, demonstrative expression of their adoration for it. Their love of palatial-dressing is sensual, enticing yet it disavows vulgarity. And it is on this ephemeral border where the Italian and French meet. A cultural space where lavishness rejects lasciviousness and the luxuriant is embraced by the nondescript.
