You Are the First Woman On the Day of Creation: Dolce and Gabbana S/S 2014

By Anja Wade

"Tu sei tutto, Sylvia! Ma lo sai che sei tutto? Tu sei la prima donna del primo giorno della creazione, sei la madre, la sorella, l’amante, l’amica, l’angelo, il diavolo, la terra, la casa…"

Such are the famous confessions of Marcello Mastroianni in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. “You are everything, Sylvia! Do you know you are everything? You are everything, everything! You are the first woman on the first day of creation, you’re the mother, the sister, the lover, the friend, the angel, the devil, the earth, the house…” These words are resonant with the ethos of Dolce and Gabbana’s Spring 2014 collection, which debuted recently at Milan’s fashion week.

To the designers and their fellow Italians, women are indeed everything. Their spring collection celebrated the myth and reality of womanhood in Grecian-inspired Sicily. According to Greek mythology, Gaia is the goddess of all goddesses: the being who gives birth to the Earth and the Universe. Part celestial angel and part Gaia, Dolce and Gabbana’s collection featured interpretations of all things sensual. This was both worldly and otherworldly.

There were silk dresses with prints of Greek temples and theaters, fitted skirts, medallions worked into the hair and fabric, bustiers, flowing pieces, and more. Almond tree flower prints worked their way into appliqué for added poetry. Bright red lingerie-inspired pieces recalled the color palette of Satyricon. Fellini's tongue-in-cheek sense of humor did not go unnoticed, either. There was something witty about the collection, with Greek columns literally serving as the heels of shoes and medallions serving as flirtatiously over-sized embellishments. In any other designer's hands, the collection might have turned out to be garish. But garish it was not. At the show’s finale, models floated on the runway, outfitted entirely in gold ensembles. The show literally shimmered and sparkled. As they often do, Dolce and Gabbana left us with a much-needed sense of romance and reverie.

Models at Dolce and Gabbana, S/S 2014. Image sourced from: http://www.dolcegabbana.com/dg/fashion-show/woman-runway/catwalk-gallery/