BEAUTY IS WHERE YOU FIND IT

Or sometimes it's in your face, unavoidable and overwhelming. Such was the case at the Dolce & Gabbana Men's Spring show this week. It is rarely often that we see a men's show that is beautifully staged and that manages to carry the drama a women's show usually does, though, in comparison, a women's couture show is a very difficult rival when it comes to showtime. Unlike the lucky ones who managed to view the show LIVE through the Italian duo's website, I managed to catch it on youtube later on that day, but we were all witness to a moving show that was exquisitely orchestrated both visually and musically.
Opening the show to Mascagni's Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana was probably the best way to have the audience on the verge of tears. Those strings manage to strike every nerve in a person's body, and if it doesn't, have you asked yourself if you're alive at all? I hold this musical piece as one of my favorites and I've had it on repeat after the show. It brings memories from a recent trip to Buenos Aires, when I watched Raging Bull with a close friend (though we never made it to the end of the film). The movie opens with the same music, so when I heard it on the show, it immediately made me think of Italian immigrants in the U.S. and their background, and how Dolce&Gabbana have always worked on the heritage of Italian culture.

After this extremely touching introduction with the screens flashing images of Domenico and Stefano giving the finishing touches on the gorgeous models that were about to walk the runway, the curtains opened and there was Annie Lennox, sitting majestically at the piano, seconds before playing No More I Love You's. Later came Why, A Whiter Shade Of Pale and Must Be Talking To An Angel for the finale. Not only was the music beautiful, but everyone participating in this event, be it front row or backstage, was being treated to the presence of a great musical icon. As you can tell, this show was definitely designed to touch our hearts from beginning to end.
This gives you a clue on the musical beauty of the show, but then visually, the clothes, the models, everything was perfect. It was great to see Evandro Soldati (gorgeous), David Gandy (godly), André Ziehe though the major highlight for me was Enrique Palacios walking down the runway after quite a long time. They all strutted wearing outfits that just breathed ease. Who can resist such beauty?

ENRIQUE PALACIOS

EVANDRO SOLDATI

ANDRÉ ZIEHE

DAVID GANDY

JUSTIFY MY TONY WARD

STEFANO GABBANA AND DOMENICO DOLCE

I have written about beauty before, and it's power, and the thought struck me again. Here are these kids, young models, selected because of their physical features, becoming part of a memorable moment in fashion history where Annie Lennox was playing live while celebrating the 20th anniversary of the design team's men's line.
It has been a VERY touching show (and a true inspiration to working to be fit this summer). Here's the link to the show on the official Dolce & Gabbana website. The videos on youtube follow.
http://www.dolcegabbana.com/dg/fashion-show/man/video_runway

(Pics via style.com)





Part II of the show is in the next post.