By the spring/summer 2016 Alta Moda collection, presented the day after the Alta Sartoria collection for men and set on the very stage of La Scala, Dolce & Gabbana returned to a core design ethos whereby a woman as well as an Italian context became the focus. The 88-look collection described by International Vogue Editor Suzy Menkes as an ‘aria of excellence’, looked to one of Italy’s famed mid-twentieth-century couturiers: Elvira Leonardi Bouyeure, known more commonly as Biki. The step-granddaughter of Giacomo Puccini and a friend of Maria Callas, Biki’s life was profoundly intertwined with events at La Scala. The collection honoured this with an operatic tribute that combined embroideries showing vintage programmes for Puccini’s masterpieces Tosca, Turandot and Madama Butterfly and Biki’s own couture sketches. Alta Gioielleria pieces included both prima-donna coronets and witty winks to couture itself in the form of platinum tape-measure necklaces.
As it developed, the Alte Artigianalità project served to raise both the standards and the profile of Dolce & Gabbana ready-to-wear. The continuing high level of commitment in craft and design can be seen in the subtle perfection of a tailored cashmere skirt suit from the spring/summer 2013 collection photographed on model Drake Burnette by Josh Olins.
Overleaf In January 2016, Dolce & Gabbana launched a range aimed at the Muslim market. ‘The garments, while engineered for modesty, have all the flair of any other Dolce & Gabbana collection’, said Vogue. Here, an abaya and hijab ensemble in a print scattered with daisies is completed with a patchworked snakeskin handbag and crystal-embellished ‘Margherite’ sunglasses.
It is important to stress that Dolce & Gabbana’s Alte Artigianalità has not superseded the impact of the ready-to-wear collections, which remain, to a global audience and international fashion press, the more publicity-driven events, streamed live over the internet. Apart from the autumn/winter 2016 show that took place in public on the cobbled streets of Naples, Alte Artigianalità is much more protective of the imagery disseminated from its shows because of its aim of retaining the unique exclusivity of garments for its customers.
The relationship between the two levels of output is rich and symbiotic. At its inauguration, Alte Artigianalità’s immediate impact on ready-to-wear was to make the designers assess the core philosophy of the Dolce & Gabbana brand, and it led to their giving the collections for both men and women a defined focus on the characters of Sicily, the capital of the Dolce & Gabbana empire.
