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敬请期待中文版  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana IT WAS A MOMENT of emotion, of tears and cheers worthy ofMilan's grandest opera house, La Scala, as the voice of MariaCallas soared over a stage where the audience sat to watch the Dolce & Gabbana high fashion show. The lush red and golden interior of the opera house, with itsprivate boxes, rich in history, were replicated in drawings ondresses, along with sketches of Milan's cathedral, the Duomo.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana This show of extraordinary Alta Moda creations -with severe, body-hugging black sheaths, boldly decoratedcoats and lace dresses offering a glimpse of flesh underneath- was an exceptional moment.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana An emotional Alexander Pereira,director of La Scala, said it was the first time the stage of theopera house had been given over to fashion. And between Stefano'smother - Piera - Middle Eastern potentates, and American andJapanese businesswomen, there was hardly a dry eye in thehouse. Then came another surprise. After the audience was led offstage,the curtains closed and then swished open to reveal a change ofset: tables set for a celebration lunch.  Picture credit: @SuzyMenkesVogue As I stood in the ornate Royal box with Domenico Dolce andStefano Gabbana watching this laid-for-lunch stage rise up, Ithought it was a neat metaphor for the extraordinary ascent ofDolce & Gabbana as a couture house. Ever since they shuttered their more populist D&Grange in 2011, the duo's Alta Moda has had an exceptionalfollowing of high-net-worth couples. Yes, couples! For a menswear Alta Sartoria collection was alsoheld over the weekend. And a high jewellery collection completedthe triptych of events.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana "Why wouldn't we try to open this special world?" Domenico hadtold me earlier in the day, when I visited the Dolce & Gabbanaateliers, where dedicated, mostly young women were working withclouds of pink tulle or sewing the final gilded embroideries. "Our goal is style, not fashion," said Stefano, as he explainedthat the inspiration for the Alta Moda show was "Biki" (ElviraLeonardi Bouyeure), one of the most famous Italian couturiers fromthe 1940s to 1960s, and granddaughter of opera composer GiacomoPuccini.  Picture credit: @SuzyMenkesVogue "Biki was a strong, emancipated woman, determined to leave amark on the history of Alta Moda," Stefano said. The mood board of the duo's inspiration included photographs ofBiki as she built her fashion house, dressing high society,including La Callas herself. But it is now 2016, so the clothes in the show could not be toomuch like costume. Yet even relatively simple outfits were dressedwith exquisite details, from a jewelled necklace hung withdiamond-studded scissors to a noble Madame Butterfly headdress.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana Who are the clients, how many are there, and where do they comefrom? The duo is frank about inviting journalists to share anexceptional event - without offering any information about who elseis there. At the atelier, one thing had amazed me as much as the intricateworkmanship being done meticulously by hand under crystalchandeliers: the two hundred padded dummies, each with a differenthip width and bust size and with hand-written labels of theclient's name tied round the neck.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana Speaking discreetly to these unknown, non-celebrity clients atthe party Domenico and Stefano held the night before the La Scalaevent, I found that they came from Hamburg to Hawaii, Delhi toDoha, Moscow to Macau, all sultans of luxury and emperors ofunimaginable wealth. Hence the Asian gentleman who walked into theAlta Sartoria men's show wearing a crown. Alta Sartoria: Bespoke and Sport WHAT WAS the male offering? "We sketched, we turned inspirationinto a book, bringing pyjamas and sneakers into the story," saidDomenico, the tailoring expert, who was wearing a silk shirtpeppered with prints of miniature tennis rackets.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana Stefano had already waved his hand up to the soaringceiling of their headquarters to show how the neo-classical frescoin almond and dawn-pink shades had been translated into a jacketpattern. The menswear was a mix of the impeccable tailoring that Domenicoinherited from his father - say a black coat where the bodyundulated under wool cloth - and the fluidity of satin dressinggowns or even Middle Eastern robes.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana I liked the addition of old-world sports clothes for tennis,golf and equestrian events, although golf clubs carried incrocodile bags seemed an extravagance too far.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana As with the women's collection, a book showing Dolce &Gabbana's inspirations was set on each velvet chair, so that wecould see pictures of sportsmanship through history. Anotherinspiration included early movie stars such as Fred Astaire. Eventhe bear-hug fur coats on the runway had their origins inimages from the 1920s.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana The detail was exquisitely realised, right down to a tennisracket with the Dolce name on the handle. Jewels Good Enough to Eat IT WAS molto Italiano -a display of Dolce & Gabbana's high jewellery mixed with fruitand flowers.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana Domenico walked me around the 300 pieces, which includedvegetables, religious crosses and tiny interpretations of theduo's craft in the shape of pins made out of gemstones standingspikily in a "cushion" above a watch face.  Picture credit: Dolce Exceptional Italian craftsmanship resulted in flamboyant stonesthat looked like multi-coloured sweeties or reflected historicinspirations, such as painted vistas of Venice.  Picture credit: Dolce and Gabbana The most exceptional thing about the Alta Moda weekend eventswas how many there were; the cornucopia of ideas in three separateareas. Stefano and Domenico have set the bar of couture high. (责任编辑：admin) |