A 10-Point Guide to Dolce & Gabbana’s Sicilian Inspirations Inline
Photo: (From left) Yannis Vlamos / Indigitalimages.com; Getty Images1/10Dolce & Gabbana’s men’s Fall 2016 spaghetti western might seem straight out of Texas, but Gabbana cited the dramatic vistas of Sicily’s mountainous range between Palermo and Catania as an inspiration. Here, a view of Castelbuono in northern Sicily.
Photo: (From left) Getty Images; Yannis Vlamos / Indigitalimages.com2/10Domenico Dolce remembers being 7 years old when he first visited the Chinese Palace in Palermo. Some years later he would return to the place as an inspiration for his Spring 2016 men’s collectsion.
Photo: (From left) Yannis Vlamos / Indigitalimages.com; Getty Images3/10Matadors in Sicily? Dolce and Gabbana found inspiration in the Spanish rule of Sicily that lasted from 1516 to 1713. Perhaps the Duomo di Catania, above, served as a reference for the pale blue of this bolero.
Photo: (From left) Getty Images; Kim Weston Arnold / Indigitalimages.com4/10Even before the Spaniards there were the Normans, who ruled Sicily from 1030 to 1198. Their fairy tales inspired Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 2014 collectsion. Some vestiges of Norman rule are still visible in today’s Sicily, like this mosaic in the Church of La Martorana in Palermo that depicts Norman King Roger II’s coronation by Christ.
Photo: (From left) Yannis Vlamos / Indigitalimages.com; Getty Images5/10Dolce & Gabbana’s historical explorations accelerated with their Spring 2014 collectsion that #TBT’ed all the way back to Greece’s colonization of Sicily, beginning in the 8th century B.C.E. The columns of the Temple of Hera in Selinunte were printed on dresses like this one worn by Anna Ewers.
Photo: (From left) Getty Images; Filippo Fior / InDigital | GoRunway6/10The golden mosaics of Sicily’s Cathedral of Monreale inspired the heavily beaded and ornate dresses in Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 2013 collectsion.
Photo: (From left) Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com; Getty Images7/10Spring 2013 saw the duo take a more generalized approach to Sicilian references. Still, the recognizable ceramic designs from the Caltagirone region served to inspire patterns on tailored separates and cocktail dresses.
Photo: (From left) Getty Images; Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com8/10Sicily’s baroque religious heritage was the starting point for the pair’s Fall 2013 collectsion that featured a slew of silver and gold looks. At left, one of Sicily’s more ornate chapels in Monreale, dedicated to Santa Maria Nuova.
Photo: (From left) Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com; Getty Images9/10Imagined evenings spent at Palermo’s Teatro Massimo opera house circa 1910 inspired Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 2012 men’s collectsion, but their luxe suiting would still serve guests at the venue today.
Photo: (From left) Garry Hogg / Stringer / Getty Images; Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com10/10Any Italian knows that a vegetable garden is as holy a place as the church. (I say this as one who has felt the wrath of untended zucchinis!) For Spring 2012, the design duo looked to the backyards of their families and friends, and presumably to Palermo’s thriving vegetable market too, as inspiration for their foodie prints.
