The emergence of a trio of pristine, white-clad astronauts on Dolce & Gabbana's catwalk to the strains of Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (better known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) made for one of the more memorable fashion-show intros in recent memory. And the grandiosity of the notion somehow dovetailed with pop culture's current elevation of the everyday hero. The fact that it also lockstepped with Justin Timberlake (on the soundtrack, at least) only amplified the analogy. Domenico and Stefano have always traded in traditional masculine archetypes, but with this collection they seemed to be pushing those archetypes into the future (and not just because there were elements in the show as specifically fashion-futuristic as metallics and iridescents).
Their evolution had more to do with a general tightening up of their core aesthetic: Where once their denims might have featured some artful distressing, here they were indigo-dyed, bandbox-smart, and paired with rigorously tailored blazers. And DG's signature male glamour was richer but more subtle than usual, at its best in a leather blouson glazed with gold. The finale (introduced by a reappearance of those astronauts, this time in silver) featured a passage of suits in metallic silk shantung—copper, bronze, gold. We know the boys love movies. Here, they offered their own distinctive hybrid of Stanley Kubrick's future and David Lynch's eternal, darkly erotic present.
