Change may be exciting, but there is something to be said—and admired—about consistency too. After all, to have a visual language so well-defined it can be conjured mentally and summed up in just a few words takes hard work, laser focus and serious skill. Dolce&Gabbana is one of those rare brands that can lay claim to that feat. Glamour, sensuality, lace, lingerie, the colour black, the Sicilian matriarch, the Italian diva, Madonna (both the religious iconography and the pop icon, who was on the front row)—these are words and images that immediately come to mind when one thinks of Dolce&Gabbana.
For fall/winter 2026, the brand is doubling down and reinforcing those very codes, in a collection not so subtly called Identity—identity being something very much in flux at many of the major Italian brands right now. Gucci just got a new-old one courtesy of Demna, as did Marni via Meryll Rogge. Louise Trotter is two seasons deep in her refresh of Bottega Veneta, and next season Pieter Mulier will unveil his new vision for Versace. So it is smart of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to lay claim to their corner of the Italian fashion market. No one else does what they do quite so well.
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In recent seasons, the duo has occasionally veered towards streetwear-leaning, Gen Z-chasing aesthetics but they are at their strongest when they design for the archetypal va-va-voom D&G vixen. To kick things off, they sent out suits and coats wrenched apart at the collarbones, elongating the neck and exposing decolletage. In a feat of craftsmanship, the backs were exact mirrors of the fronts—buttons and lapels and all.
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Then, they continued exploring the tension between the masculine and the feminine. Tailoring came in hourglass silhouettes; and mannish jackets were worn over the wispiest of chiffons and lace. Shoes came in the form of either sky-high pointed pumps, or flat lace-up brogues. The other juxtaposition that the duo excels at is the one between revealing and concealing. See the giant faux furs worn with nothing but lingerie, or the baggy jeans paired with fitted bustiers. Crochet shawls—the kind you see sported by Sicilian grannies—looked hot instead of homespun when thrown over see-through slips. Black has been all over the runways this Milan Fashion Week, but here, instead of reading as safe, it actually serves to underscore the strength of the Dolce&Gabbana codes.
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