Incense floats through the air as cardinals emerge from Castel Sant’Angelo. Roman senators gather at the Foro Romano to debate the fate of the republic. Nearby, gladiators stretch in preparation for battle. It sounds like a scene from ‘Conclave’ or perhaps a deleted sequence from ‘Gladiator II’, but in fact, it was the setting of Dolce & Gabbana’s latest Alta Moda and Alta Sartoria collections. What unfolded was a baroque extravaganza, a display of theatrical splendour rooted in Italian tradition, religious symbolism, and fashion’s love for spectacle. The result walked a fine line between liturgical opulence and satirical depictions of the Catholic Church.
The Alta Sartoria menswear show took place in Castel Sant’Angelo. Once a mausoleum and later a papal stronghold, the castle now served as a temple for haute couture. The show opened with altar boys carrying incense followed by a procession of cardinals who took their designated places alongside Ponte Sant’Angelo. They remained in solemn silence, watching the models glide past in their ecclesiastical looks. Before a single creation had appeared, the staging alone delivered a visual sermon.
Dolce & Gabbana gave ‘liturgical’ a new meaning, bringing craftsmanship to a new level of devotion. The collection echoes the Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces of Michelangelo, Bernini, and Raffaello, with every creation finding harmony between devotion, discipline and iconography. Copes, chasubles, and dalmatics were lifted from the sacristy and tailored into high fashion statements, to such extent that it is hard to imagine a suitable occasion for these pieces other than the Met Gala. Only those with a flair for drama and eccentricity could dare to pull it off.
The procession of visuals continued with nods to Byzantine mosaics and sculpted bodices made from white fabric designed to resemble marble. Bodices are a key characteristic of the collection with many crusader style armour looks adorned with crystals and gemstones carefully embedded by hand.
Across the city at the Roman Forum, the Alta Moda women’s show unfolded with hired roman senators and gladiators. According to Dolce & Gabbana, “This setting – which evokes the majesty of temples, basilicas, and triumphal arches – blurs the lines between history and legend, paying homage to the Vestal Virgins’ college, of which Rhea Silvia, mother of Romulus, Rome’s founder, was a part. Like stepping into a special time machine, one suddenly finds themselves in an era rich with unique inspirations, where the Vestals conceal their beauty beneath layers of flowing veils, creating an aura of mystery around them.”
The show starts in a very regal way with heavily ornamented pieces and golden bodices. The collection pays tribute to Italian culture drawing inspiration from its iconic landmarks. Prints of the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and the Spanish Steps feature in several looks like high fashion postcards that anyone would love to collect. As in the Alta Sartoria show, marble-like bodices reappear here in sculptural grandeur, like they belong in the Vatican Museum. As the show evolved, the silhouettes softened. Elegant dresses were a sophisticated tribute to the feminine beauty of the 1950s, to the art of draping, and Italian cinema.
Of course, to discuss Dolce & Gabbana without acknowledging their history of controversy would be selective memory. The duo faced backlash in 2018 for a campaign featuring a Chinese woman attempting to eat pizza and spaghetti with chopsticks. The ad was widely condemned as racist. Their statements opposing IVF and same-sex parenting have also sparked criticism. Nevertheless, they continue to reassert their influence, season after season, unapologetically.
Their latest Alta Moda and Alta Sartoria collections arrive not as mere garments, but as lavish icons of devotion to beauty, heritage, and arguably, to themselves. Dripping in gold, veiled in mysticism, and steeped in Catholic symbolism, the collections invite us to admire them but also to ask: are we witnessing art, or idolatry? Do they pay tribute to Italian culture or satirize it? Whatever the answer, one thing remains clear, Dolce & Gabbana know how to put on a show.
