Dolce&Gabbana exhibition opens at the Grand Palais in Paris

The Grand Palais in Paris has opened a new exhibition dedicated to Italian fashion house Dolce&Gabbana exploring its “creative universe” as seen through its Alta Moda, Alta Sartoria, and Alta Gioielleria collections.

The ‘From the Heart to the Hand: Dolce&Gabbana’ exhibition runs until March 31 and is described as an “open love letter to Italian culture,” which is a constant source of inspiration for Domenico Dolce’s and Stefano Gabbana’s designs.

The exhibition, conceived by fashion historian Florence Müller, traces the aesthetic journey of the Italian duo’s creations, from their ideas through to the realisation executed by hand in their ateliers.

Unfolding over a series of 10 rooms, the exhibition features more than 200 of the Italian fashion house’s one-of-a-kind creations for the first time, which are presented in emblematic locations in Italy as a homage to their sources of inspiration. These sit alongside over 300 handmade accessories and 130 pieces of furniture and antiques.

Following a thematic view, detailing where Dolce&Gabbana have drawn inspiration for their couture designs, including Italian art, architecture, regional cultures, the opera, ballet, cinema, folk traditions, as well as the art and craft of glasswork.

Highlights include a room dedicated to Sicilian traditions, showcasing the influence of Sicilian ceramics and carts on the luxury fashion house’s Alta Moda and Alta Gioielleria collections, presented in Palermo in 2017, while another shares the sculptural garments of its white baroque collection inspired by the work of Giacomo Serpotta.

There is also a room laid out as Dolce&Gabbana’s atelier in Milan featuring a selection of black dresses, highlighting the importance of the colour to the Italian brand, while another room focuses on its use of the sacred heart motif and the ‘dream of divinity’ collection for its autumn/winter 2019/2020 collection, inspired by the stories of myths immortalised on Attic Greek pottery.

Other collections on show include the autumn/winter 2017/18 Alta Sartoria collection, which was presented in front of the Cathedral of Monreale in Sicily as a homage to this architectural masterpiece combining Arab, Norman, and Byzantine influences, and the Alta Moda collection presented in Venice before the Doge’s Palace in 2021, featured sartorial creations delicately adorned with crystal embroidery as a way of paying tribute to the excellence of the local glass tradition.