For their Fall/Winter 2009 collection, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbano were inspired by fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli who, along with Coco Chanel, was one of the most influential designers in the 20’s, 30’s, and early 40’s – not to mention a fan of this season’s dominant trend, over-sized shoulders.
Little surprise then that puffy shoulders and references to the fashions in the period between the two World Wars graced almost every outfit. Along with some ostentatious fur looks (fox, dyed goat hair, mink), which no matter the state of the economy, we’ve come to expect from Italy’s most proponent design duo, there were bright pops of color.
Among the colors, as an ode to Schiaparelli, there was hot pink. Schiaparelli was famously inspired by a pink diamond owned by heiress Daidy Fellowes for the color of the box for her first perfume which was for the time appropriately called “Shocking.”
The box’s shade was hot pink and the packaging, designed by Leonor Fini, featured a bottle in the shape of a woman’s torso.
Fittingly, the shoes at Dolce & Gabbana conjured-up the wartime era with their suede platforms, but came complete with quirky touches – cut like a woman’s silhouette, they were topped-off with everything from ruffles to shell-like accents.
The Dali and Schiaparelli inspiration was further notable in quirky touches like leather gloves being used as scarves and hats (Dalí designed hats – including ones shaped like a giant shoe and one shaped like a giant lamb chop – for Schiaparelli in the 30’s), as well as ruffle detailing on stockings and shell-shaped buttons.
To end their show in true Dolce & Gabbana fashion, the duo showed a slew of looks with Marilyn Monroe on everything from a t-shirt to a dress to a floor length gown.
Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.
