ROZZANO, Italy (Reuters) – There were no aerial kisses or hugs, a front line and a face mask were of rigor, as Dolce and Gabbana had to rewrite the regulations of the high-end fashion commitment with one of COVID’s first physical exhibitions: On Wednesday 19.
As a component of Milan’s virtual men’s fashion week, the outdoor fashion show was followed by visitors dressed in a face mask as models walked down the catwalk and stood on the lawn a metre away.
It was held on the university campus of the Humanitas Medical Research Foundation, which seeks to expand a vaccine against the new coronavirus, a task that Dolce and Gabbana are helping to fund.
Along with another Italian logo, Etro, which also hosted a physical exhibition with visitors the previous Wednesday, Dolce and Gabbana is the first real-world fashion occasion organized through a primary luxury logo since the rest of the blocking restrictions in much of Europe.
Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said in the race that it took them a long time to discover whether the organization of such an exhibition would be imaginable, but that they sought to send a message of optimism and that Italy, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, is back in business.
While the fitness crisis has forced luxury homes to close their retail outlets and inactivate their production sites, brands have canceled occasions or opted for audienceless and digital-only formats, such as the haute couture show in Paris earlier this month.
Fashion weeks are a time for designers to showcase their creations to the media and buyers, and the two industry leaders, Italy and France, hope to retain normal occasions in September.
Inspired by the colors of the Amalfi Coast and its sea, Wednesday’s 2021 Dolce and Gabbana spring/summer display in Rozzano, south of Milan, featured 102 garments in blue tones, some with neoclassical statue prints.
It was followed by about two hundred guests, most commonly Italian, compared to 500 or more in general times. The same front line of A-list foreign celebrities and the giant Chinese contingent of buyers, media and influencers has been ruled out by coronavirus restrictions.
The models did not wear a mask on the catwalk, the logo recently introduced a collection of matching masked pajamas, but any of the designers did so for their classic end-of-show look.
The exhibition, which caused suppliers to paint loose and was intended for Humanitas’ COVID-19 investigation, sparked a Twitter debate about holding a public demonstration with many countries still under blocking and persistent fears of a wave of infections.
Veteran London fashion journalist Luke Leitch, who arrived in Milan, had no qualms.
“Milan feels safe, with masks and extended temperature controls. It’s wonderful to see fashion and friends again,” he said on Instagram.
Reporting through Silvia Aloisi; Editing through Raissa Kasolowsky and Lisa Shumaker
All quotes were delayed for at least 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of operations and delays.
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