This season, Dolce&Gabbana returned to where their Alta Moda story began to unveil their latest collection in spectacular fashion. Presented in the Sicilian hilltop town of Taormina, the collection marked a homecoming for the house, with the destination’s rich mythology, natural beauty and cultural history serving as the backdrop for one of the most spectacular couture presentations of the season.
Hosted within the lush botanical gardens of Radicepura, guests including Jennifer Lopez, Monica Bellucci and Christian Bale were immersed in a dreamlike setting of palms, citrus trees and fragrant blooms, punctuated by Baroque gilded thrones, cherubs and ornate mirrors. Before the show even began, models stationed throughout the conservatory offered a glimpse of the extraordinary craftsmanship to come.
Titled Le Devote delle Dee dell’Olimpo (meaning The Devotees of the Olympian Goddesses), the collection imagined an encounter between mythology and reality. In Dolce&Gabbana’s vision, the goddesses descend from Mount Olympus to Sicily, where they are welcomed not by royalty but by devoted Sicilian women who honour beauty through rituals, flowers and craftsmanship. It was a poetic tribute to the island’s enduring relationship with art, faith and tradition.
Flowers became the collection’s defining motif. Handcrafted roses, peonies, jasmine, and orange blossom blossoms adorned gowns through intricate embroidery, appliqué, and painted embellishments. The opening look, a dramatic black illusion tulle gown with exaggerated pannier hips, was entirely covered in delicate floral work, while another transformed its wearer into a blooming tulip, complete with sculptural pink petals emerging from the hips.
Alongside these botanical fantasies came the house’s unmistakable Sicilian aesthetic. Black lace veils, corsetry, lingerie-inspired silhouettes and richly embroidered capes referenced the romantic widows that have become a Dolce&Gabbana signature. Elsewhere, early twentieth-century slip dresses, fringed shawls and historical hoop skirts were brought to life through an extraordinary combination of velvet, silk satin, Chantilly lace, brocade, chiffon and organza, lavishly embellished with bullion embroidery, crystals, bugle beads and gold leaf.
The finale delivered the collection’s most unforgettable moment. Named Isola Bella, after Taormina’s iconic island, the closing gown appeared almost sculpted from the Mediterranean itself. Layers of pale blue, turquoise, aqua green and silver-grey tulle flowed from the bodice into an expansive train, evoking the movement of sea and sky as Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers filled the gardens.
The collection reaffirmed the house’s unique ability to transform history, mythology and Sicilian identity into wearable works of art.
