Imperfect Beauty at Dolce and Gabbana
Review of Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Girlie Show, accentuated curves, anatomical tailoring
It’s hard to believe that the Queen of Pop never quite took her fashion ambitions as seriously as she approached everything else in her career, being that she turned her hand to most other areas and was the original influencer. Instead Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana did the honours and like Kim Kardashian before her she was immortalised in cloth.
Deciding to avoid the low-hanging fruit of turning her likeness into a print, although the design duo would be remiss if they didn’t add at least a graphic T-shirt to the mix of nearly 60 dressier looks, as not every customer or die-hard Madonna fan can wear a conical-bra bustier dress. There were so many more of Madonna’s eras to play with so it was a little disappointing that Dolce and Gabbana focussed mainly on the custom looks made for her ‘The Girlie Show’ tour in 1992, mixed in with the brands well established svelte silhouettes.
Rarely ever shying away from incorporating after-dark looks on their runway – with slip dresses and lace or structured bras part of their DNA – there were many facets to Madonna, and to the idea of ‘Italian Beauty’ (the title of todays show) for that matter, which could have sparked ideas for looks outside of the bedroom. As pinstripe tailoring, fur coats or glossy leather trench’s the only true alternatives, there needed to be more of a variety of casual options to avoid falling into the trap of a narrow view of what constitutes beauty today.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Celebrating the “essence of Italian Beauty” was the ambition for todays collection, which was a celebration of one of the worlds most iconic beauties who has proved a powerful figure when it comes to women taking agency of their lives. But the idea of what constitutes Italian Beauty needed expansion to fully represent all facets of the women who buy into the brand and were cheering on for Madonna in todays front row.
