Dolce&Gabbana's journey into the identity never lost

"This show reminded me why I've always been in love with the brand": it is a comment stolen from an American buyer that well sums up the spirit of the collection presented yesterday by Dolce&Gabbana. "This fashion show reminded me why I've always been in love with the brand": words that echo those used by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to present garments and accessories for next autumn-winter. "We have called the collection Identity, which for us means remaining true to ourselves and to the research we have carried out in over 40 years of working together. Research means stylistic and material exploration, having some polar stars, starting with Sicily and everything it evokes for us".

Not an exercise in nostalgia, nor 'simple' variations on themes such as lace, transparencies, handmade knitwear, sensuality made of stiletto heels and cleavage. Rather, another proof of how the two designers and entrepreneurs look at the fashion world and the essence of their work today. "We have the good fortune to be the creative directors of the brand we founded and of which we have decided, since 1984, every small or big step," they continue. "Fashion is change, listening to society, reflecting the culture of the moment and therefore is by definition in constant evolution. But for those of us who make it and continue to love it deeply, the key is to never betray our essence, the points of reference that we have always had and which, season after season, strengthen our identity".

The presence at the fashion show of Madonna, whom Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been dating (and dressing) for decades and with whom they shared the beginning of their respective successful paths in the 1980s, should be read in this light. Who better than Madonna to embody the idea of 'change while remaining true to oneself'? There is inevitably a hint of nostalgia, at least for onlookers - journalists, above all, we believe -: if the creativity and passion of designers like Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and stars like Madonna have survived more than forty years unscathed, the same cannot be said of the fashion industry as a whole, which is not surprisingly going through a global slowdown.

Collections like those of Dolce&Gabbana reconcile us with fashion and its potential magic, that is, the possibility it gives everyone to express their personality or mood of the moment through clothes and accessories. After all, the 'lesson' of yesterday's fashion show is simple: there is nothing more dangerous, in everyone's life, than living without an identity or without giving one's identity the right value. This applies to people and brands: just think of the Prada fashion show (see Friday's Il Sole 24 Ore), all played out on its history, and Gucci, desperately, we might say, in search of a lost identity.