Its is fitting that Dolce&Gabbana were influenced by Tamara de Lempicka’s artwork as her first major show was held in Milan in 1925. After the turn of the millennium, Dolce&Gabbana wanted to look back at the earlier century. Where best to look than at the emancipated 1920s and 30s with their strong eathsetic and equally strong women?

The inspiration for this collection was born of a birthday gift which Stefano Gabbana gave to Domenico  Dolce: A painting of a woman by Tamara de Lempicka. Her clean aesthetic, bold colours, cubist influences were a novel inspiration to Dolce&Gabbana’s costmary Baroque art. When examining the clothes in the collection, the merging of the Deco aesthetic and 70s flare turns out to be a novel matching of eras.

The pleating and the volume of the dresses are firmly linked to the Art Deco vibe. The transparencies and plunging V neck however resulted in a modern way to wear these vintage style codes.

The Biba references are visible in the cut of the suits. The plus fours and tweed matched with lurex tops honed in on the British seventies style, while the jewel encrusted berets were a continuous nod to the twenties flapper.

The pleating was the strongest reference to the 1920s, smooth, flowing and a favourite amongst the stylish women of that era. To mix up the references, these pleats were also applied to dramatic seventies bell bottom trousers.

Luxurious materials and unusual ways to treat them have become synonymous with Dolce&Gabbana, and for FW00-01 it took a new meaning. There was one coat with gold beaded pin stripes on the outside and laser cut mink on the inside. Another was a pink, purple and red patchwork mink coat made with 1150 pieces of fur.

What brings this collection together in the merging of twenties and thirties with seventies is the quality, strength courage and emancipation of the women who lived in those periods: embodied by Tamara De Lempicka.

Styled by: Yuri Ahn

Written by: Valentina Zannoni

Credits: Dolce&Gabbana