Dolce & Gabbana: On The Money For Spring/Summer 2014

Dolce & Gabbana: on the money for Spring/Summer 2014

As the saying goes, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Design duo Dolce & Gabbana SS14 collection certainly rang true to the proverb, using their recent money woes (they have been on trial for tax evasion) as stimulation for their collection. Money, specifically ancient gold coins, took centre stage, emblazoned in print, blown up to form belts and even forming jewellery along with ancient Sicilian references. The key themes for SS14 were all there, lace, florals and touches of sheer, but with mega watt Dolce & Gabbana glamour. The show felt like a sequel to their AW13 show; many of the themes and ideas they introduced in February, such as extra wide sleeves on mini dresses, slim midi length skirts and ancient historical scenes used as inspiration for bold, gold hued prints were developed further.

There were simple shifts and longer column dresses in archaeological prints, cinched at the waist with giant gold coin belts or paired with a matching coat, the prints moving in unison as the model walked giving a wonderful dimensional quality. Coliseum prints on short, full skirted dresses with ample billowing sleeves were flecked with gold coins, which became increasingly abundant until the dresses were engulfed in metallic pennies forming an armour-like sheath. The underwear as outerwear element was present with slinky, liquid silk slips and lace dresses that were kept sensual, lining free with black lingerie peeking through.

The workmanship was sublime, most notably in the printed silk and chiffon dresses with three-dimensional floral motifs, reminiscent of little woodland blooms come to life, they were definitely amongst our favourite looks. Whilst these aren’t clothes to wear to the office, the collection definitely has commercial appeal for Dolce & Gabbanas high-flyer fan base and some of the high-octane pieces are sure to make an appearance on the red carpet during awards season.

Gina Brar

A self-confessed coffee addict, collector of fabulous high heels and a lover of the written word, Gina plans on taking over the world of Fashion Publishing one story at a time. When she’s not shopping for beautiful new finds or devouring the latest catwalk pictures she can usually be found curled up with her favourite novel.