Dolce&Gabbana celebrates the joy and fun of dressing 'every man for himself

Released in December, Damiano Michieletto's Primavera is set in 1716 in the Venice of Antonio Vivaldi. We recommend the film, not only for the skill of the protagonists, the originality of the story (fictional but partly true) and the beauty of the music and the setting, but also because it makes one realise that imposing a uniform, female or male, is an assault on personal freedom and that, on the other hand, being able to choose how one dresses, wears make-up and 'accessorises' oneself is a form of supreme personal freedom. Of course, clothes and accessories are also linked to economic and social status (300 years ago as today), but the images of the orphans of the Ospedale della pietà on the one hand and the Venetian nobility on the other remind us how many times in history clothes have either imprisoned us or freed us.

A long preamble to comment on how happy Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are with the choice they have made for next autumn-winter's men's collection: about a hundred looks taken down the catwalk yesterday as a hymn to the (possible) uniqueness of every man's style. And every woman's, of course. The hundred models reflected this injection of uniqueness: different ages and physiques, entrances to the catwalk, unlike usual, not entirely synchronised and - little big surprise - glances cast left and right, not fixed on the 'mountain' of photographers lurking at the end of the catwalk. The collection is called The Portrait of Man and Walt Whitman - because poets have already said it all and in the most harmonious words - could have brought it to accompany his verses 'Do I contradict myself? Of course I contradict myself! I am vast, I contain multitudes'.

However, being a collection of a fashion brand, the diversity of the hundred looks is surprising - ranging from the 'formalissimo' embellished with brooches and shoes in precious leathers to pyjamas worn under ripped jeans - and at the same time consistent. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana give the explanation: "In over 40 years we have created everything, ranging from grand evening to sportswear inspiration. We have experimented with materials and combinations, we have moved between very different volumes and proportions, sometimes extreme. To create this collection, we simply looked at our heritage, the archive, and remixed it".

It does not escape us that such an operation is in reality complex and partly risky, but these too are fundamental elements of fashion and certainly of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana's way of understanding it. "We have been saying this for several seasons: fashion is no longer fashionable. For us, this means not aiming to dictate trends or, worse, follow them, but to create with the same passion as always, thinking of men and women who are looking for quality, of course, and who have reference brands or who love them for a long time. At the same time, however, we wish to invite everyone to choose and combine their wardrobe as an exercise in freedom, as well as self-expression".

Nineteenth-century uniforms and fashions aside, let us try to look at and reflect on our present and what is happening in the world: nothing is more oppressive - the dictators of today and all past eras prove it - than being deprived of the joy of experimenting with our own image in the mirror.