Latest news with #AltaModa
Times
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Ciao bella — how to dress for a Roman holiday
I know it's the French that we Brits are supposed to get excited about, style-wise, and indeed I did summon up some enthusiasm on these very pages last week. But for me it's all about the Italians. It's always about the Italians. The so-called tomato girl summer that took over social media a couple of years ago — a telling conflation of food and fashion — is still alive and kicking. Although, what with the temperatures and my limited skill set when it comes to dealing with them, mine is thus far proving more of a passata girl summer. Food. Fashion. It's encapsulated by one Miuccia Prada, who, unlike her austerely clad French counterparts, will present herself at the end of a catwalk show in head-to-toe red satin, and who — just in case that isn't enough for you — also owns a cake shop. I am in Rome as I write, for Dolce & Gabbana's Alta Moda show, which I review here. The city is as ridiculously ravishing as ever, but then so are the Romans. Sure, it can be tricky to see them, obscured as they tend to be in the summer months by several dozen burnt and be-bumbagged foreigners. But when you do … • Read more fashion advice and style inspiration from our experts What they channel in their wardrobes might be called joie de vivre if it weren't for the fact that this is the wrong language, so I will refer to it instead as sprezzatura. The Italians love colour and pattern, embracing it in such a way as to look classy rather than as if they are angling for an Instagram showing. JJ Martin, a Milan-based American who runs a kaleidoscopic label called La DoubleJ, goes as far as to call them 'geniuses. They just inherently understand tasteful arrangements of pattern and colour. It's as if they have a special DNA strand that embeds style in the bloodstream.' Here's what makes up the Italian summer uniform. This is a different species to the floral numbers that we tend to turn to. Forget Mapp and Lucia. Think Monica and Sophia. (Bellucci and Loren, on the off-chance that this needs further clarification.) It's not about the village fête. It's about drinks on a terrace somewhere on the Amalfi coast. Eschew ditzy prints. What you want is a ritzy print, one that's bold and very possibly geometric. You might also factor in the idea of an unwaisted style, the better to come over suitably operatic. And also, handily, to enjoy that second helping of pasta. La DoubleJ's signature swing maxi — in a hefty silk twill, with T-shirt sleeves — is the best around in terms of ever-after quality and print options (£770, At a less hair-raising price point there's Boden's Maya maxi (£120, and New Look's fruit-print wide-strap midi (£37.99, No, not to sleep in. The Italians don't wear PJs in bed. (See Bellucci, Monica, above.) They wear them to add a boudoir-adjacent frisson to the state of being fully conscious. Dolce & Gabbana has turned the day-pyjama genre into an art form, although suffice to say that if you have to ask the price you can't afford them. My more real-world favourites are a jazzy print linen pair from Karen Millen, with the option to go for shorts as well as trousers (£111.20 for the shirt, £119.20 for the trousers, £103.20 for the shorts, Bellissima. • The new must-have summer trousers (you probably already own a pair) It's got to the point in Rome this week where I am almost wondering whether there is some kind of municipal diktat prohibiting any sunglasses that couldn't also serve as welding goggles. & Other Stories' cool-girl tortoiseshell aviators would fit right in here (£32, AllSaints' giant squared-off cat's eyes, in black or a paler take on tortoiseshell that it calls (ahem) snow leopard, are more straightforwardly chic (£125, It might be a top, it might be a dress, but it's any self-respecting Italiana's favourite way to sizzle come summer. House of CB's Adabella, in a shade it calls Italian tomato, is a particular cracker (£179, The bandeau style from Nobody's Child — I like the giant polka dot — would also do the job (£99, To quote Loren in Houseboat, 'Bing! Bang! Bong!' The originals are so minimally be-strapped and soled as barely to class as footwear, and would ideally be purchased from the famous Canfora on Capri itself (from £159, However, there are some great iterations on the high street. Free People's are almost as pared-back, in a range of colours (£88, while Nobody's Child has a brown version with a more pavement-ready sole (£115, Italians got on to these for their youth-bestowing magic long before we did. Me+Em's white turn-ups would do nicely (£136.50, reduced from £195, as would Sézane's black and cream check (£125, and — if you are up for more volume — Albaray's leopard culottes (£79, Wait and See Milano — a veritable jewel box of a boutique — has some red and white floral beauts too (€283, reduced from €403, One of the ways in which Italian women signal the arrival of summer — not that here, in my experience, it normally needs much signalling — is by putting away their usual leather handbag, which will be an expensive investment piece, for a more fun wicker or raffia style. I always look for a lined interior, so that it works in the city as well as by the sea. For a neat tote, try Bloom & Bay's Kiara (£44.95, but for one that really thinks like a handbag, complete with leather flap and crossbody strap, try Wicker Wings (£250, I am going to finish on what is perhaps my favourite aspect of Italian style: how they dress up even the simplest ensemble with a knockout piece (or two) of costume jewellery. My favourite hunting grounds at home include the vintage offerings at Felt, Eclectica and Susan Caplan. Mango also knows how to make a dolce vita-appropriate statement, to wit its chunky resin bead necklace in shades of amber and brown (£45.99,
The National
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Ancient Rome meets la vita bella: Dolce & Gabbana brings history to life at extravagant Alta Moda show
As the sun set on Tuesday night, Rome's forum – built in the 7th-century BC – Foro Romano – came alive once again. Serving as the civic heart of Ancient Rome, the site of law courts and public meetings became the stage for Dolce & Gabbana 's Alta Moda show – transforming Via Sacra into a bustling, theatrical thoroughfare. Presented as a love letter to the Eternal City, the show turned the ruins into a living tableau. Toga-clad senators, gladiators, dancers and poets wandered through the crowd, mingling with guests. This was one event in the five-day extravaganza that is Alta Moda, where it is often difficult to tell models from clients – a testament to the immersive, over-the-top world Dolce & Gabbana conjures with its couture events. Clients of Alta Moda are more than customers; they are collectors. Willing to spend undisclosed sums on one-of-a-kind, handcrafted creations, they arrive at these shows wearing gowns and suits from past seasons – many with yards of trailing silk, hand-painted trains, glittering headdresses and armfuls of feathers. Nothing is off limits, and everything is worn with the joy and theatricality it was designed for. Like all Alta Moda shows, this was a tribute to Italian heritage and craftsmanship. The event was a year in the making, with research unearthing details such as Roman soldiers commissioning personalised armour – inspiring a series of looks built around ornately decorated breastplates, crafted from gilded brass and worn over draped chiffon or vast feathered skirts. Rome's architecture provided rich inspiration. The city's Spanish Steps were depicted in delicate applique on a swing coat dress; the Colosseum, visible in the distance, appeared in gold stitching across a coat and on a domed skirt; and the Trevi Fountain splashed across a sequinned coat. The Pantheon was referenced, as was the mythic statue of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, which adorned the opening look. The priestesses of the Temple of Vesta, guardians of the Eternal Flame, inspired four pure white gowns that turned the female form into a living sculpture. Created using innovative techniques, the fabric was moulded into three-dimensional drapery. Elsewhere, the house's signature glamour was ever-present. The sensual lace dresses that defined early Dolce & Gabbana were reimagined as translucent evening wear, covered in silvered flowers or smothered in mosaics of gold and silver beading. Hollywood of the 1950s and 1960s loomed large. Rome, during its cinematic golden age, drew stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner. It was the setting for Roman Holiday, Cleopatra, Ben-Hur and La Dolce Vita – and the show tapped into this era with coiled pleats on a strapless dark red midi dress and retro silhouettes reworked with contemporary embellishment. Like a bridge between centuries, Romanesque beading adorned corsets, hobble dresses and a founded cape, stiff with decoration. The collection moved fluidly between eras – from the marble temples of antiquity to the glamour of Cinecitta – without losing its sense of cohesion. At a preview, the designers spoke about the brand's deep Italian pride: 'We honour our country by choosing to produce all of our products here in Italy, and we honour the 6,000 employees across Italy. They are the true soul of Dolce & Gabbana.' This devotion was perhaps most visible in the accompanying Alta Gioielleria (high jewellery) collection, also inspired by Rome. The pieces – necklaces, rings, cuffs, earrings and watches – were handcrafted using gold, coral, precious tourmalines and ancient Roman coins so rare they required government permission to be used. Miniature Roman statues were recreated in marble powder, fragments of sculpture became brooches and earrings, studded with gems. One transformable necklace was adorned with slices of stone, intricately laser-carved. Guests including Isabella Rossellini, Cher, Christian Bale and Norwegian Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland watched as this pageant of decadence unfolded. It was a show designed not just for fashion, but also for history, art and theatricality – a total celebration of Rome, past and present. Etched into one of the bejewelled necklaces on show was the Latin phrase 'veni, vidi, vici'. And that's exactly what Dolce & Gabbana did. They came, they saw, they conquered.
Vogue
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Live at the Forum! Dolce & Gabbana Bring Alta Moda to Rome
The Roman Forum at dusk—that was the monumental setting for Dolce & Gabbana's Alta Moda show tonight. The collection, which paraded down the Via Sacra, the first street in Ancient Rome, paid homage to both the city's historical classicism and its 1950 and '60s excesses, though a guest who knows the difference observed it was more Satyricon than La Dolce Vita. Not far from the Basilica of Maxentius, a Julius Caesar-type and a lyre player took pictures with guests; curly haired men in colorful robes basked in the golden hour sun on the steps of the Temple of Antonius and Faustina; and in the central piazza under the shadow of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, theater troupes, armored soldiers, and vestal virgins crisscrossed the runway as people took their seats. It was a feast for the eyes—and that doesn't even take into account the 450-plus Dolce & Gabbana clients from around the world who descended on the Eternal City for the show, each one trying to outdo the other in haute couture and high jewelry. Surrealismo! Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been making Alta Moda collections for 12 years, building their clientele not just with their one-of-a-kind clothes, but with their spectacular locations: Taormina and Siracusa in Dolce's native Sicilia, Venezia, Napoli, Portofino—the list goes on. Why put off Rome for so long? Dolce, who took his bow solo, having watched the show from the front row alongside Cher, Erling Haaland, Isabella Rossellini, and Christian Bale said, quite simply, 'these people have a vision about beauty.' (Gabbana could not attend for family reasons.) Since it's the ne plus ultra of Italian cities—all roads lead there, etc., etc.—Dolce didn't do anything by half-measures. It began with a deep red velvet cape over a strapless dress, the capitoline wolf (the symbol of the city) picked out in sequins on its skirt. Next, came a series of armored corsets of the sort the Roman emperors wore, made in gilded brass with flowing chiffon skirts. Stolae, the draped dresses popular in ancient times, were designed with padding at the torso to give them the three-dimensional folds of carved statues, an astonishing effect. Simpler versions in vivid colors were unadorned save for gilded brass belts, one of which read Vini Vidi Vici, though the sublimest of all were in silk velvet, one deep purple, the other yellow gold.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Christian Bale and his glamorous wife join Erling Haarland and his girlfriend at the star-studded Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda fashion show
Christian Bale and Erling Haarland looked classically handsome as they brought their partners to the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda fashion show on Monday. Batman actor Christian, 51, cut a dapper figure as he arrived at Foro Romano in a black two-piece suit which he layered over a black T-shirt. He looked happier than ever as he linked arms with Sibi Blažić, his wife of 24 years, at the luxury fashion event. Sibi looked sensational as she slipped into a little black dress which featured intricate black sleeves. The long-time couple met through actress Winona Ryder while she and Christian were working on Little Women in 1994 and Sibi was Winona's assistant at the time. The two hit it if off, eloped to Las Vegas in 2000 and welcomed their two children, daughter Emmeline in 2005 and son James in 2014. Meanwhile Erling was seen attending the show alongside girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen. Premier League striker Erling arrived in a tailored white two-piece suit which he layered over a crisp white shirt. He finished his striking ensemble with a pair of brown suede loafers and a pair of bold black sunglasses. Isabel looked sensational as she stepped out in a nude sheer wrap dress which she layered over gold shorts and a matching bra. She added inches to her frame and slipped into a pair of gold stilettos and accessorised with a gold clutch. Elsewhere Isabella Rossellini commanded attention in a black cape gown which was embellished with intricate floral designs. Francesca Fagnani looked classically chic in a little black dress which she paired with a set of towering leopard print stilettos. Edward Enninful cut a sophisticated look in a navy blue two-piece suit which he layered over a pale blue shirt. Anna Wintour also stepped out to the star-studded event as she arrived in a white wrapped trench coat which featured a red rose design Skye Hankey put on a very leggy display for the event as she slipped into a black mini dress which was adorned with an intricate pearl design. Lady Kitty Spencer turned heads as she arrived in a regal olive dress which featured a colourful floral design. Anna Wintour also stepped out to the star-studded event as she arrived in a white wrapped trench coat which featured a red rose design. In her usual classic style, Anna accessorised with a pair of large black sunglasses and slipped into a pair of cream strappy heels.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Legendary Pop Music Icon, 79, Stuns With ‘Simply Incredible' Surprise Performance at Secret Show in Rome
The eternal city was treated to a dose of pure star power as Cher delivered a surprise performance at Dolce & Gabbana's exclusive Alta Moda runway show, leaving guests and fans worldwide in awe. The 79-year-old icon took the stage at the star-studded event, held on Rome's Via Veneto, a street synonymous with the glamour of "La Dolce Vita," which served as the evening's theme. The Grammy-winning artist and Oscar-winning actress rocked the event stage, proving her star power remains as compelling as ever. While guests inside the event were treated to the live spectacle, the news quickly ignited social media, with fans across the globe celebrating the icon's latest appearance. One fan expressed gratitude, writing, "Thank you for cher-ing your talent and passion with us for 60 freakin years!" That sentiment was echoed by another who simply stated, "Cher FOREVER." The adoration continued with fans celebrating her signature style and ability to captivate. "Fabulous, legendary, glamorous, iconic!!! ❤️❤️❤️ love how you always surprise us with stuff!!!" one user posted. Many shared personal stories, underscoring how her music has been a source of strength. "'Song for the Lonely' saved me so many times," one heartfelt message read. Another fan shared a touching memory: "Wow you look and sound amazing!! My mom loved you so much and got me listening to your music. My mom passed about 2 years ago and listening to your music always makes me smile!" One commenter took the time to appreciate the setting, writing "Love a Roment! And love you my dear." The comments section became a love letter to the star, filled with praise for both her artistry and her character. "Thank you for being you ❤️ love you to pieces forever and always," a fan wrote, capturing the collective feeling. Another summed it up perfectly: "You are simply incredible." Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
