The exhibition “Dal Cuore alle Mani: Dolce&Gabbana” (From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce&Gabbana) opens in Palazzo Reale, the first dedicated to the unmistakable creations of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Promoted by the Municipality of Milan Culture and produced by Palazzo Reale and IMG, Florence Müller curated the exhibition, choosing Milan as the first stop of an international tour that will include some of the greatest cultural centres in the world.
This wonderful exhibition is a declaration of love for Italian culture, a source of inspiration and muse behind Maison’s spirit since its founding. It traces the extraordinary creative process of its founders: from the heart, where ideas are born, to the hands, the means through which they take shape.
In Milan’s Palazzo Reale are several immersive installations and specially commissioned digital artworks that place multiple creative languages in dialogue with the brand’s unique creations, from visual arts to architecture, from music to Italian traditions and from theatre to the Dolce Vita. The journey begins outside Palazzo Reale: the exhibition begins with a series of digital artworks created by leading contemporary visual artists who have provided their interpretations of Dolce&Gabbana’s creations.
Handmade. The exhibition continues on the noble floor of Palazzo Reale through ten rooms, each exploring a key theme underpinning the fashion house’s essence. Starting with a space entirely dedicated to the Fatto a Mano, the Handmade, the exhibition welcomes visitors with paintings inspired by the Grand Tour of the Alta Moda collections by Dolce&Gabbana, signed by Anh Duong.
The art and craft of glassworking. The second room is dedicated to the art of Venetian glassworking. The display unfolds among a series of finely crafted mirrors and chandeliers, creations designed to reflect the meticulous embroidery and crystal detailing that adorns the garments exhibited alongside them.
The Leopard. The third room is a tribute to The Leopard, a recurring reference in the Dolce&Gabbana vision. Different locations from Luchino Visconti’s famous film of the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa are evoked at the Palazzo Reale with an immersive setting that reproduces the famous ballroom scene.
Devotion. Dedicated to devotion, the fourth room is steeped in a baroque atmosphere. Under the aegis of the Sacred Heart, the space presents a contemporary sancta sanctorum, a treasure chest that holds a selection of Alta Moda and Alta Gioielleria creations that alternate the charm of Sicilian black with the opulence of gold.
Ateliers, ornaments and volumes. The heart of the exhibition is the fifth room, which provides an extraordinary glimpse into the workshop practice central to Dolce&Gabbana’s Alta Moda, Alta Sartoria and Alta Gioielleria. This space, which faithfully reproduces the ateliers and laboratories of the fashion house, will see tailors, seamstresses, and artisans work every Friday, immersing visitors into creating these pieces.
Architectural and pictorial. The tour continues with a focus on architecture. The immersive installation presented in the room expresses this connection by utilizing video mapping techniques in dialogue with the Renaissance artworks that adorn the selection of pieces at the centre of the room.
Sicilian traditions. The wealth of Sicilian craft tradition comes to life in the seventh room through a special hand-painted installation by master painters of the majolica and the Sicilian cart.
White Baroque. The eighth room explores Sicilian artistic tradition with a tribute to Giacomo Serpotta, a master of the Baroque period who dedicated his talent to working with stucco. A selection of dresses from the Stucchi Alta Moda Collection is displayed here.
Dream of divinity. The ninth room reflects the dimension of myth, opulence, and dream: on one side, Greek deities materialize in the form of ethereal dresses from the Alta Moda Collection presented in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.
Opera. The exhibition concludes with the tenth room dedicated to the strong connection between the world of opera and the vision of Dolce&Gabbana. The interior of the Palazzo Reale is broken down and reshaped as the interior of an Italian theatre, where crimson curtains and tiers of boxes open onto a scene where creations inspired by the designers’ most beloved operas are in the spotlight.
Article edited by Elena Parmegiani