Making a commentary that does justice to the Dolce and Gabbana autumn-winter 2019 menswear collection is hard. The collection is a veritable tour de force, which expresses the very essence of male elegance. The Italian label has got us used to amazing collections season after season, but this time around, they really outdid themselves.
For a while now, we have predicted that there will be come-back of couture, and this time not just in terms of womenswear, but in terms of menswear as well, and, while there have been hints of high fashion here and there over the last season, this collection has truly opened the flood gates.
Of course, it will take a while until more brands will go for outstanding elegant clothes, but this collection definitely sets the tone for years to come.
The elements that compose it are easy to describe in words: high style prints and patterns and mixes of those, lavish fabrics and rich colors, as well as tons of sparkle and shine are the marks of this collection. It can be said that the collection, which featured over 130 looks, had several parts to it (which makes sense, since Dolce and Gabbana customers are not uni-dimensional) and offered different interpretations of the same theme, which was royal, high-sartorial Italian elegance. There was not much clear "inspiration" to the collection as a whole, in some ways it can be said that the designers used their own brand as the inspiration for it. It was cover to cover what the brand does best: bold, rich clothes for unapologetic men who like to stand out. Some looks were more subtle and subdued, while others were disco ball flashy and glam. And that was the great thing about it, that there was something for everyone. Surely, it is needless to be said that the collection featured many suits, but also outerwear and complementary pieces.
The timeless character of the collection was given by the mix of royal references with elements of the 1920s and 30s in terms of shapes and the addition of some Art Deco and even 1990s accents here and there. It was a tour de force in terms of 20 th century aesthetics, which were combined in a way that truly worked. In a way, besides being timeless, this encapsulates the very zeitgeist, where everything is a reference. In this regard, Stefano Gabbana commented: "We love today because of the freedom: Everybody feels free to dress in whatever and however they want. But we wanted to explore this style of elegance now, because it gives young men of today the opportunity to enjoy fashion in a way that is new for them. We have lost this sense of elegance recently-fashion is the mirror of the time-and of course we do sportswear and mix and match too. But we've found that a lot of the guys we have worked recently with get very excited at the prospect of wearing an amazing suit or a tuxedo-a really strong suit or a tuxedo, not something boring-because that is not something that is so available to them. And this kind of elegance is timeless."
Fraquoh and Franchomme
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