Dolce & Gabbana Writes Another Love Letter to Sicily With Its Latest Alta Moda Show

2 min read

There are few places more synonymous with Dolce & Gabbana than Taormina. It was there, in 2012, that designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana launched Alta Moda, their couture universe rooted in Italian culture. And last night, they returned to the Sicilian town for what may have been the grandest Alta Moda presentation yet.

On Monday evening, the Radicepura Horticultural Park was transformed into a mythical stage set, its lush botanical gardens—Dolce-ified with, somehow, even more flowers—framed by the silhouette of Mount Etna in the distance. Before the first look emerged, a voiceover set the tone: “In this story, the goddesses represent the dream. The devotees embody life. The goddesses descend from Olympus. The devotees await them on earth. And it is precisely in the encounter between these two dimensions that the magic of Alta Moda is born.”

Léonie Cassel, the 16-year-old daughter of Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel, opened the dramatic procession in a tulle ball gown adorned with a garden variety of flora, including a bouquet of blue baby’s breath. (Bellucci was one of the more than 300 guests in attendance, alongside the likes of Christian Bale and Jennifer Lopez.)

The Sicilian landscape remained a constant source of inspiration throughout the collection. Floral intarsia unfurled across substantial skirts, while citrus-hued embellishments and gilded embroidery nodded to one of the island’s most celebrated exports: lemons—and, naturally, limoncello.

The silhouettes were unapologetically theatrical, but the craftsmanship was just as commanding. Fringe-trimmed opera coats with plush collars were layered over velveteen evening gowns with Fortuny-inspired pleats. Just as we saw at Paris couture week, the waist remained central to the narrative: pannier silhouettes, some exaggerated with cage-like constructions at the bust and shoulders, evoked the glamour and romance of La Dolce Vita.

Closing the show was a procession of four gowns—rendered in aquamarine, sherbet, crimson, and light blue—each more opulent than the last, with lavish handwork and cathedral-length veils. As the show notes declared, “At the heart of this collection is a devotion to beauty.”

The feat was as impressive in scale as it was in design. Spanning 99 looks, the runway show marked the second chapter of a three-day extravaganza that began with the unveiling of the house’s latest high jewelry collection and concludes Tuesday evening with Alta Sartoria, Dolce & Gabbana’s menswear couture counterpart.

More beauty, more drama, more Italy. Put simply, that’s Alta Moda.

Matthew Velasco is the Fashion News Editor at ELLE. Based in New York City, he previously worked as a News Writer at W magazine and an Assistant Editor at V magazine. Outside of fashion, he enjoys interior design, tennis (both watching and playing), and a jam-packed antique store.