Dolce & Gabbana Autumn Winter 2015: Mother Love

There are very few names in fashion that could get away with a runway show that was, essentially, an ode to motherhood. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana can though. This is Italy, after all, and it’s not as if this country’s most famous designer pairing don’t put their money where they mouths are: recent ad campaigns have featured women of all ages, photographed with a tenderness and respect that is clearly heartfelt.

And so, when the lights went up to reveal a tableau vivant of mothers and their children at the Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan this afternoon and models – including a pregnant Bianca Balti - stepped out onto the runway holding their babies or little girls’ hands there was barely a dry eye in the house. The soundtrack – Edoardo Bennato’s Viva La Mamma and The Spice Girls’ Mama – only added to the sweetness of it all.

The clothes, meanwhile, were more than a match for such unbridled sentiment. The Dolce & Gabbana signatures were, of course, in place: the black lace pencil dresses, the trapeze-line shifts, the camisoles and cardigans, all embroidered, printed and appliqued with jeweled roses and the words ‘I love you mother’ in English, French, Italian… The list goes on. Then came more painted with naïve drawings of houses, gardens and all things family oriented or with Old Master paintings of the Madonna and Child.

The colour palette was restricted principally to black, white, red and gold with accents of emerald green and that looked great. The silhouette was indebted to the mid-Twentieth century – the 40s, 50s and 60s - which is entirely of the moment but always a mainstay of the Dolce & Gabbana aesthetic. Few do it better. With their hair pinned into soft chignons and more flowers and crystal woven into their curls, models were so pretty – so unashamedly romantic – that only the most cynically minded commentator could argue against such a move. As a celebration of femininity - which let’s not forget has always been at the core of this label - it was second to none.