Last Saturday, the president of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, Carlo Capasa announced the return of Dolce & Gabbana within the official calendar of Milan fashion shows, confirming their presence at the upcoming Milan Digital Fashion Week, that will be held from 14th to 17th July, after more than twenty years of independent shows.
Other brands that have announced their participation in MDFW are:
- In April, Alessandro Sartori of Ermenegildo Zegna announced a new multimedia presentation format focused on the concept of phygital.
- In May, Gucci also confirmed its support for the initiative, with the presentation of materials from the Cruise 2021 show now cancelled during the last day of the digital event.
- Giorgio Armani will instead continue with his own independent calendar – and has returned to invite his Italian colleagues who are walking in Paris to bring their collections back to Milan.
- Other brands whose presence has been confirmed are Prada, Etro, Bottega Veneta and Dsquared2.
At the announcement, CNMI President Carlo Capasa explained better how the new Milan Digital Fashion Week works. First, he stated that a provisional timetable should be available around 11 June – which will confirm which and how many brands will join the initiative. As for the actual operation of the new format, Capasa explained that each brand will have a 20-minute slot to present their collection in whatever format they prefer. Shows and digital content will be broadcast live around the world while CNMI will make a range of extra content such as interviews, insights and backstage available to the public. A separate space will be dedicated to virtual showrooms.
Dolce & Gabbana’s show will be, at least in part, physical. The two Sicilian designers will show their collection on July 15, at 5.30 pm in the gardens of Campus University of the Humanitas Hospital.
The show will be attended by selected members of the press and buyers. Later, a video of the show will be live-streamed on the official platform of Milan Digital Fashion Week. An important event that marks the end of the disagreement between Dolce & Gabbana and CNMI, which started in 1998, as well as one of the first physical shows after the explosion of the coronavirus pandemic and precisely on the medical campus that the brand supports in its studies on the virus.
“It took a long time to figure out if it was possible, for the lock down and the new provisions. But now, with maximum security, we will do everything. We will send the invitations and everyone will be free to decide. If they have to, the models, all Italian, will parade with masks, no problem. We are the most well-prepared place for safety.” – Dolce & Gabbana
It will be a fashion show “in a minor tone”, with less looks and less guests than usual, and certainly even more sober from the point of view of the mise-en-scène, which usually, when it comes to Dolce & Gabbana, is always something extremely dramatic and theatrical such as the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento, the Pinacoteca of Brera and the square of Monreale. The presentation of haute couture and jewelry, on the other hand, will be completely digital and will take place through a video.
