MFW: Dolce & Gabbana Offered A Sex Education On The Merits Of The Femme Fatale At Milan Fashion Week

Dark, vampy, and sultry aren’t traits synonymous with the brand’s ‘la dolce vita’ lifestyle, but one they’re perfecting in a 90s revival

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: Models walk the runway during the Dolce Gabbana Ready to Wear Spring Summer 2024 fashion show as part of the Milan Fashion Week on September 23, 2023, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

It’s hard to unthread the string between Dolce & Gabbana’s sultry 90s archive and the boom of deliciously dark and vampy dressing that followed. The two are so inextricably linked that sultry, lingerie-inspired shapes have become synonymous with the work of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

With the brand coming up to a business milestone—40 years of D&G—it’s no wonder why the design duo are feeling rather sentimental. For the Spring/Summer 2024 season, the brand has dedicated its collection to vixens, sirens and multi-faceted femme fatals who have shaped the luxuriate’s identity for almost four decades.

Entitled “Women”, Dolce & Gabbana’s panoply of sensual lingerie is an ode to the essence of femininity; innate carnal beauty and powerful mystique harnessed through boudoir sensibility.

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: Naomi Campbell during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 23, 2023 in Milan, Italy. Credit: Supplied

For a collection embracing womanhood, Dolce & Gabbana cast an impressive roster to reflect whom they see as emblematic of their DNA. Naomi Campbell, Ashley Graham, Vittoria Ceretti, Stella Maxwell and Irina Shayk all embraced the inherently flirtatious mode of Italian dressing in technical sheer lingerie or recontextualised tailored staples.

Evoking a marriage of the innocent and the nubile, D&G seemingly referenced their provocative Spring/Summer 1992 collection in a collection that leaves little to the imagination—or left little on the mood board.

This concept of inherent strength found in erotic shapes continued off the runway and onto the front row as well, with guests all determining the expression of their sexuality through either extravagance, brazenness or modesty.

And though some reports have claimed the show started 45 minutes late—it’s alleged that Kylie Jenner’s tardiness held the show and resulted in Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” playing on repeat for nearly an hour—the show was a tight edit.

Tight to the body, tight in its execution and tight bow wrapping Dolce & Gabbana’s 90s revival with the present.