Stefano, your hair is blue!
It’s not the first time! I love coloured hair. My first time was 30 years ago when I bleached it. Then I went orange, then I went blue, and now I’m blue again. I take inspiration from the young generation! Next, I want to go green.
This collection marks a new direction for you. What motivated it?
We worked with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia: artificial intelligence. Remember when we presented the show with the drones? The season after, we started to look into artificial intelligence. The idea is to take influence from technology, but the most important thing about technology is humans. Humans make technology. It’s handmade.
How did your research impact the garments?
It influenced the fabrics, the colours, the attitude. We’ve tried to do something different, mixing sponging with wool, wool with plastic, vegan fabric with mohair. We’ve tried to do experimental things. Our job is like a mirror that reflects the present. And today, everything is about technology – especially in this moment with the pandemic. Social media, new attitudes, new approaches… This is the most interesting development to us.
Is this collection a glimpse into the future?
The future, I don’t know, but what I know for sure is that artificial intelligence is a good thing for humanity. It can create help for healthcare, for politics, for nature. I don’t know the future of fashion but we’re starting to do something new. More than the future, we are interested in today.
Often people are scared of a technological takeover…
It’s human to be scared about the future. The new is scary. But the future is now. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Domenico and I are not afraid because we are curious, and that helps a lot.
What brought on this bold change of direction for you?
For Domenico and me, freedom is the most important word. We are designers sketching collections in Milan. Sometimes people say, “Where are we going with this? It’s impossible to wear this!” But the world is big. If it’s not okay for me, maybe it’s okay for you, or another person. Maybe it’s not okay immediately, for now, maybe it’ll be okay in two or three years’ time. That’s our reflection on today.
Between the new ‘digital’ silhouettes, are there traces of the ’90s?
Half of the silhouettes come from social media: the structured things, the exaggerated volumes. The other half is very Dolce & Gabbana: tight, sartorial, slim, sexy. For many years, young people have been asking us, “Ah, why don’t you make the clothes you made in the ’90s? The ’90s, ’90s, ’90s…”
You’ve surrendered to public demand?
We weren’t 100 per cent comfortable with the idea because, you know, when you’ve done something before it’s very difficult to redo it in the same way. You’ve changed your mind, mentality, age, and today is a different time. It’s not the ’90s. So, we’ve tried to do some ’90s: embroidery, corsetry, sexiness. But the starting point is different.
How so?
Today, young guys and girls dress up for themselves, for selfies, for the mirror; today ‘sexy’ is the same word but with another value. The new generation’s approach to ‘sexy’ is totally different. In the ’90s, you’d dress sexy for other people. In this moment, the young generations dress sexy for themselves, because they love it. It’s kind of a new hedonism.
Finally, what made you choose Kitty Spencer as your new brand ambassador?
We’ve been friends with Kitty (the niece of the late Diana, Princess of Wales) for a long time. We feel very comfortable in her company; talking, eating, spending time together. It was spontaneous to ask her to become the image of Dolce & Gabbana. And we love British beauty. We’ve been attracted to Britain since our early beginnings. It’s the most extravagant culture in the world. She walked two or three times for us. Maybe she’ll walk next time, when it’s possible to do a real show again.
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