As Digital Fashion Week Rolls On, Dolce & Gabbana Gets Physical

Fashion weeks are usually defined by glitzy street-style photos, excessive Instagram posting from stylish influencers, and extravagant in-person runway shows. But not during a global pandemic. The traditional fashion show and seasonal model have been in the midst of a transformation for years. As this month’s Fashion Week went digital, we’ve seen unbridled creativity from Louis Vuitton, Prada, Loewe, JW Anderson, Dior, and countless others. However, leave it to Dolce & Gabbana to zig when others zag, and instead opt for a socially distanced, but still physical, presentation.

It comes as no surprise that the Italian luxury fashion house chose to march to the beat of its own drummer. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have never shied away from doing and saying as they please, no matter the consequences. This isn’t to say that the Dolce show flew in the face of the moment, though. Instead of holding the show at their long-standing venue, the Metropole theater, Dolce & Gabbana opted for a new location: the outdoor garden campus of Humanitas University. (Guests were asked to physically distance and wear face masks, too.) The connection to this new spot? Dolce & Gabbana has been funding medical scholarships since last year, and has donated further to the university’s study of the coronavirus.

The collection that was sent down the runway was inspired by the Gio Ponti-designed Parco dei Principi Hotel, which sits on the Italian coastline. That meant clothes in shades of blue and white (a nod to how the beaming building meets the sea) with no shortage of loud prints or eye-catching silhouettes—mellower gear for a work-from-home world, but not without some typical D&G opulence.

Long before the pandemic, the concept of fashion week had been shifting and morphing into something entirely new. Younger brands have opted for presentations and activations that don’t fit within the typical runway show mold. The coronavirus has only intensified that acceleration. It’ll be interesting to see how things continue to evolve season after season, even as life hopefully returns to a more normalized state. Until then, this moment has proven that if fashion week does change, there still will be some labels that, come hell or high water, won’t ever give up the in-person runway show.