Madonna's 1990 megahit "Vogue" was blaring from the sound system at D&G. But Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana's collection took those of us in the audience old enough to remember back a few years before that to the mid-eighties heyday of London fashion stars like Katharine Hamnett and Bodymap's David Holah and Stevie Stewart. Do you recall George Michael's "Choose Life" T-shirt from Wham's video for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"? There was nothing quite as political as Hamnett's anti-drug slogan to be found in Milan today. The message of the duo's "Talking About You" tee and the show as a whole: in a word, fun.
The one thing it wasn't was serious. Not with the neon hits of caution orange, acid yellow, and highlighter pink, not with the alphabet prints, and certainly not with the plastic charm necklaces and high-heel wedge sneakers accessorizing every look. And that's probably just how the duo's Millennial fans like it. The designers opened with a man's gray tweed blazer lined in a fluorescent print that echoed the black and white block letters on the button-down and knit skirt it was worn with. More eighties shapes followed—oversize sweaters, pencil skirts, leggings, floor-length flowy skirts. As often as not, a stretchy tube was tossed over the whole thing Bodymap-style to define the waist, hips, and upper legs.
A couple of sporty neon parkas, one lined in fur, the other covered with it, have legit cross-generational appeal, in contrast to the pieces printed with schoolroom ABCs that decorated the runway. More so than usual, this collection seemed pegged at the very young. Strike a pose, kids.
