Rome provided the spectacular and glamorous backdrop to this year’s Dolce & Gabbana Alta Sartoria presentation
‘Rome is the triumph of Beauty.’ This is the verdict of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who chose the Eternal City to showcase their new Alta Sartoria collection. This is an unashamedly maximalist enterprise – couture for men, where each piece is handmade using traditional artisan techniques resulting in a unique creation.
Every year since 2015, the designer duo from Milan have picked a place in Italy in which to show this special part of the Dolce & Gabbana universe. They invite their most important customers to come see the spectacle – and it is always a spectacle – and to purchase. This is not bespoke menswear as we know it. It is something quite other. An expression of the expertise of fatto a mano (made by hand). A celebration of not only the tailor’s artistry, but also that of specialist artisans who are masters of the decorative.
In front of the towering fortress of Castel Sant’Angelo, as the sun went down, Dolce & Gabbana’s models showcased a succession of extraordinary feats of design and execution. The tone was set by the first outfit on the simple yellow carpet that acted as the catwalk: a double-breasted robe coat with full pictorial embroidery in fabric inlay, couched goldwork and friezes and cornice in gold-wound thread and gilded materials, matched with a shirt with a mandarin collar in silk satin, a criss-cross bib in white lace and triple-pleated trousers with a wide leg in double-silk satin. You get the picture.
Inspired by the codes of ecclesiastical iconography, Dolce & Gabbana presents an embroidered purple papal cloak
This collection, with its ecclesiastical influences, is of course an extreme expression of what craftsmanship can achieve. But in among the capes and robes, there was a hint of something else going on. A single-breasted jacket with shawl lapels in damask fabric finished with matching half-stitch in jet beads, for example, paired with tuxedo trousers in brocade fabric with contrasting faille sideband. The combination looked sumptuous, but you could imagine it making an appearance on the red carpet. Or even at a wedding.
And herein lies the real point of Alta Sartoria. Yes, as a piece of theatre and as catnip for those who really want the finest and the most rare, it has its place at the peak of the menswear mountain. But it also points to the fact that Dolce & Gabbana value traditional sartorial expertise, which is something they also provide further down the slopes.
With references to the white pallium of the pope, Dolce & Gabbana presents an innovative approach to 1950s Italian dress
For example, these Italians offer made-to measure, a service that invites their customers to participate in the creation of tailored garments and select from fabrics, linings, ornaments and design details to fashion a piece specially created for them. This is a step up from ready-to-wear, which is of course the entry level for Dolce & Gabbana and all menswear design. With made-to-measure, you ensure a better fit but also a personalised result.
In Rome, the designers were keen to reference not only the city’s pre-eminent ecclesiastical credentials, but also its history of glamour. Talking of the 1950s, they said: ‘This was the era of La Dolce Vita, and Rome was its chosen stage. In their stolen snapshots, the paparazzi caught this unique spirit, later immortalised by Federico Fellini in his cinematic masterpiece of the same name.’ In the scenes in that film of Marcello Mastroianni wandering the city in perfectly cut suiting, we have a vision of Italian menswear that, while not as high octane as Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Sartoria, is none-the-less its close relative in terms of quality and tailoring skill. And if you fancy something a little like that, made just for you, you can access it through Dolce & Gabbana made-to-measure.
