Vogue’s fashion critic Anders Christian Madsen breaks down the five biggest takeaways from Dolce & Gabbana’s spring/summer 2022 collection.
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com
It was a tribute to the 2000s
If the spirit of the early 2000s has already possessed this season’s runways like the ghost of an MTV Blast from the Past special, Dolce & Gabbana were way ahead of that game. In June, they presented a men’s show devoted to their own memories of the era, so intrinsically linked to their brand. Their women’s show picked up the baton, giving the kids what they wanted: glitzy, glossy, glam 2000s sex appeal, with all the signature Dolce & Gabbana styling you could ask for. “This collection is a symbol of restart[ing] and optimism,” Domenico Dolce told Vogue, highlighting that Dolce & Gabbana’s approach to Noughties nostalgia is a question of “always remembering, never repeating”. “[In this collection], the waist becomes lower, mini-skirts make an unbridled comeback, [and] pants are enriched with laces.”
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com
It was lingerie-as-daywear
Brassieres and mini-skirts stole the show, some cut asymmetrically like a Destiny’s Child video, others low-riding to reveal the lace trim of the model’s lingerie. Evening dresses had deeply plunging necklines, while corsets, waspies, and swimsuits once again graduated to outerwear status.
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com
Noughties denim is back
Denim trousers – the holy grail of Dolce & Gabbana streetwear in the 2000s – paid homage to the ripped manifestations people would queue for hours to get their hands on back in the day. Worn oversized and low-waisted, they revealed the elasticated band of the designers’ branded underwear – true to the way people would style themselves at the time.
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com
It was a moment of light
Multi-colored gemstones embellished everything from denim to cocktail dresses and little jackets, contributing some sparkle to a show titled #DGLight. “Light is good therapy for this moment. Now, we need to see light, joy, and happiness in the eyes of people. That’s what we want,” Stefano Gabbana said earlier this summer, commenting on the theme that underpinned his and Domenico Dolce’s men’s show, too. “Twenty-one years ago we came from a period of minimalism where you couldn’t put on a necklace, a color… You had to be just beige and black,” Stefano adds when reflecting on today’s presentation. “We made a comparison on a creative level: in 2000 we emerged from the darkness of an aesthetic that did not represent us and today we come out of a completely different darkness and we see light, so the light is on all the clothes. There is color everywhere: on the trousers, on the shirts, on the dresses, on the bags… everywhere.”
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com
Jennifer Lopez made a cameo
If the diamanté velcro belts strapped around models’ waists – the same Aaliyah wore in her “Try Again” video in 2000 – didn’t cement the atmosphere, Dolce & Gabbana paid tribute to her contemporary fashion icon of the millennium in a T-shirt adorned with the face of Jennifer Lopez, who attended the designers’ epic Alta Moda show in Venice last month.
Read Next: Kate, Amber, and Naomi Lead an Army of Supermodels at a “Fendace” Show to Remember
Originally published on Vogue.co.uk
