7 Things You Missed At Dolce & Gabbana's Epic Venice Alta Moda Show
The star-studded show included celeb kids on the runway, JLo on a gondala, and a celebration of Italian craftsmanship.
Venice is a city that is known both for its historic sites and its love of craft, so it's no surprise Dolce & Gabbana selected the location for their latest Alta Moda show. One surprising thing? It was the first time in history that the city's St Mark’s Square played host to a fashion show.
It's been almost two years of digital presentations since the onset of the pandemic, and Dolce & Gabbana committed to going all out in the storied Italian town on the Adriatic sea, where it hosted 450 guests. It was arguably the most celeb-studded fashion event since COVID started. And there was no shortage of festivities to go along with the couture collection, with three full days of events ranging from a home launch, to a men's bespoke show and even a timely high-tech moment, with the introduction of the brand's first NFTs.
The Alta Moda show kicked off with a bang, as Jennifer Hudson performed “Nessum Dorma,” from Turandot, and ended with a gondola trip taking all guests to dinner at the scenic Rialto market.
Read on, for everything else you need to know about the show.
The brand pulled out all the stops when it came to celeb guests. Dame Helen Mirren, Jennifer Lopez, Sean Combs, Doja Cat, Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Ciara, Monica Bellucci, Christian Bale, and Kitty Spencer were all there, each dressed in ornate pieces such as embellished capes and lace dresses, proving IRL fashion shows are truly back.
All in all, there were over 100 different looks that walked the runway. The show was a celebration of high Italian craftsmanship, with all pieces made by hand and rendered in luscious silks, brocades, velvets, glass and crystals, embroidery and special fabrics. In true Dolce & Gabbana fashion, nothing was too over-the-top, blue feathers and gilded metal dresses included.
Of course, a show in Venice wouldn't be complete without a little dramatic flair. The brand truly captured the magic of the city's natural light. Models were dropped off on the runway by traditional gondalas. Guests also arrived by boat and were taken to a poetic dinner immediately after the show ended.
With all the ornate looks, it was easy to see the similarities between the collection and the city of Venice, which was used as the backdrop. Sequined dresses and sculptural gold elements were reminiscent of the city's architecture as well as its historically embellished carnival masks. At the same time, brightly-hued kaleidoscopic confections were a tribute to the city's exquisite Venetian glassmaking craft. "For us, Venice represents the perfect harmony of opposites that attract: it is romantic and sensual, melancholic and joyful, rational and visionary, luminous and nocturnal, sacred and profane, dark and golden," Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said in a statement after the show. "It is the city of Casanova, of the Carnival, of the historic regatta on the Grand Canal."
Some of the models wore wigs inspired by gemstones, antiques and the deep and complex colors of Venice. There were 43 different off-the-cuff colors from pale sapphire to fiery copper shone. The hair was a three-way collaboration between Lena Ott who dyed the wigs, Guido Palau who styled the hair and wigs on the ground, and colorist Ryuta Sayama.
The label also cast some noteworthy celebs to walk in the show, too. Namely, children of some of the most well-known guests. Jessie James and D’Lila Star, the daughters Sean Combs walked the runway as well as Monica Bellucci's daughter Deva, Christian Bale's daughter Emmeline and Heidi Klum's daughter Leni.
The brand also took its first foray into NFTs. Dubbed Collezione Genesi, the nine-piece collection was produced in collaboration with the digital marketplace UNXD. Five of the nine pieces—ranging from a men's suit to dresses and crowns seen in Alta Moda—were digitized in tandem with the physical pieces that walked the runway. There were also a few bespoke digitized pieces that were created for the occasion.