The close knit relationship between Madonna and Dolce&Gabbana is a well documented one with imoortant connotations for both parties. Dolce&Gabbana chose to pay homage to Madonan in a collection which looks back at the Eighties.

The general rule states that an items becomes vintage after 20 years since its introduction, which made 2001 the perfect year to begin to revisit the Eighties. That decade was extremely influential: its music, its fashion, the public’s thirst for fashion and the birth of Dolce&Gabbana.

 The image of the power woman was revisited by the designers in SS01. The defined shoulders, the bolero jackets, body con silhouettes and sky-high stilettos all resurfaced in contemporary ways. The message was not watered down, yet emphasized by the merging of vintage style codes and contemporary fabrics.

The familiar image of the Eighties Cow Girl was also revisited in the SS01 collection. Bejewelled leather jackets and fringed trousers channelled that vintage trend, as well as the trousers with satin inserts to make them look like chaps. Everything was of course extremely luxurious. These Western elements of the collection were coveted by Madonna who picked some for her video Don’t Tell Me.

Music icons from the eighties served as an inspiration for the collection: Spandau Ballet, Grace Jones, David Bowie and, of course Madonna, were key in the collection. The leather, the rock chick look, the mix of leather and lace, the corset strings all referenced key looks from these pop icons’ history.

 SS01 also saw the beginning of another important Dolce&Gabbana staple: the icon t shirt. Quite by a happy accident, Madonna requested some custom-made t shirts to wear on her press tour and at the MTV Awards in Stockholm. Similar ones were added into the runway show and to everyone’s delight that’s how the icon t shirt was born.

Styled by: Yuri Ahn

Written bby: Valentina Zannoni

Credits: Dolce&Gabbana