Dolce & Gabbana wowed Milan fashion week Sunday with a fresh and innovative Sicilian-inspired collection starring intricate wicker bustiers, baroque-sculpture shoes and colourful beach prints.
Models sashayed down the runway to Domenico Modugno's song "Wonderful", a hymn to the summer sun and sea, wearing satin, striped one-pieces in the candy pinks and blues of beach umbrellas, worn with foulard head-pieces and earrings.
The day-time sea-side feel continued with flat sandals and bags shaped like holiday lunch-boxes, while black polka dot dresses were perfect for nightfall.
Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, whose collection received rapturous applause even before the catwalk was over, said their colourful dress prints were inspired by "the famous puppets of Sicilian street theatre".
The blues, greens and pinks melted into creams, golds and browns with loose dresses bearing the slogan "Sicily" made of straw, as well as fitted ones in rough printed cotton adorned with buttons, gems or gold brocade.
The designers offered hoop earrings and sandals evoking Sicily's traditional donkey cart -- but it was their towering, sculpted platforms in particular that caught the eye.
While the whole collection pleased with its freshness and range of ready-to-wear outfits for the carefree girl, it was the show's finale that amazed, with a series of bustiers inspired by classic Sicilian baskets.
Worn under netting or over black underwear, the corsets put a modern spin on an antique femininity, recasting the Sicilian noblewoman for the 21st century.
At the Marni show earlier in the day, designer Consuelo Castiglioni presented a simple spring/summer 2013 collection in whites, blacks and greens, where elegant dresses worn to the mid-calf found sophistication in layering.
The label said its theme was "sparseness as elegance," and patterns were scarce, with most of the dresses or coats in a solid colour, their silhouettes broken up by folds in skirts and peplums that added volume around the waist.
There was a nod to this season's geometrical theme, already seen in collections such as Fendi, with a coat and skirt in horizontal and slanting stripes, the latter worn with a jacket sporting tiny red and black squares.
While some outfits had plunging "V" necklines, most were crew -- another trend this season, along with the flower motif that appeared here as well.
The fifth day of Milan fashion week was due to wind up in the evening with the Giorgio Armani show, followed by a collection of the prestigious Italian fashion house's designs, from clothes to accessories and jewels.
