Perpetual rain in Britain and overcast skies in unseasonably chilly Milan; during this particularly dreary summer, Dolce & Gabbana looked to a simpler, more sun-bleached time at the power duo’s menswear show in the Italian fashion capital. The 1950s to be exact, and the evocative Italian noir cinema of Fellini and the timeless machismo of Marcello Mastroianni. The Italian south, which happens to be where the G7 summit is taking place, at the luxurious Borgo Egnazia resort in Puglia, holds a special place in the Dolce & Gabbana (sacred) heart – Domenico Dolce hails from Sicily – and the rustic charm of that region informed the clothes.
The formidable Signore Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who mark 40 years of the house this year, parlayed those filmic references into a nostalgic collection designed with the simple pleasures of a Sicilian summer in mind; crisp linens over flashy silks, basket weave over ritzy prints and a softness and sense of ease in tailoring where once it was high octane, va-va-voom playboy style. Colours kept to a monochrome and neutral palette, with occasional accents of plum and bottle green, when previously the clothes were a sensory assault of print and searing colour.