MFW: Dolce & Gabbana showcases Hollywood glamour

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MILAN — In a runway season largely devoid of celebrity wattage, Dolce & Gabbana packed them in, including Scarlett Johansson, Kate Hudson, Freida Pinto and Christy Turlington. The ladies were in town for the show and for the opening of ‘Extreme Beauty in Vogue,’ an exhibit of photographs that opened Tuesday and is being underwritten by the designers.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s runway collection was a tribute to the woman as idol, with the hourglass silhouette emphasized by exaggerated shoulder lines (one of the season’s biggest trends).

Blouses with leg o’ mutton sleeves and furs with Joan Crawford-sized proportions were paired with nipped-at-the waist skirts or tidy pants, and crinoline dresses came in photographic Marilyn Monroe prints.

There was a Surrealist theme running throughout with black-and-white polka dot or animal prints mixed with flashes of Elsa Schiaparelli shocking pink, gloves made into hats, coral branch buttons and suede wedge shoes etched with the profiles of women’s faces.

The materials were brazenly luxurious — brocades, silks and Astrakhan fur. This was extreme beauty all right, and if it sounds a little campy, it was.

— Booth Moore

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Photograph: Luca Bruno / Associated Press