When Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana premiered their luxurious, made-to-measure label in July of 2012, they couldn’t have dreamed that in ten years the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda client list would explode the way it has. Starting with an exclusive, fashion-forward audience of around 80 invited to the launch of Alta Moda ten years ago, the brand has grown to over 750 devotees at the 2022 event.
Dolce & Gabbana: Ten Years of Alta Moda
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Alta Moda, let’s take a look at how Dolce & Gabbana have presented their collections over the years.
2012
The premiere of Alta Moda included 73 pieces handcrafted with Italian artisanship. The presentation was launched in the historic Roman amphitheater with Bellini’s opera Norma and concluded with an event in the old San Domenico monastery.
2013
This year saw one annual Alta Moda event held in Milan, influenced by the city’s symbols. An additional collection inspired by cathedral mosaics was showcased in Venice on the Grand Canal at the Palazzo Barbaro, concluding with a masked ball in the Palazzo Pisani Moretta.
2014
Influenced by Modern Art and Impressionist Collections, Dolce & Gabbana showcased their latest creations in an 18th-century Milan opera house and on the Isle of Capri.
2015
2015 was a banner year for Dolce & Gabbana, as they premiered their Alta Sartoria couture collection for men and their Alta Gioielleria Collection line for men and women in the Teatro alla Scala’s Toscanini foyer. The designers then launched their most extravagant production to date with 80 performers and 94 models showcasing their Portofino collection, influenced by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
2016
Dolce & Gabbana dedicated this year’s Milan event to a notable Italian couturier named Elvira Leonardi Bouyeure. The Alta Moda collection, as well as Alta Moda jewelry called “molto Italiano,” was showcased in Milan’s La Scala. The Alta Gioielleria presentation was held at Villa Pignatelli, and Alta Sartoria was premiered at the Castel dell’Ovo.
2017
This year’s collections were dedicated to the masterpieces of composer Giuseppe Verdi and held in an old steelwork laboratory in Milan. Alta Orologeria was also debuted during the Men’s show on the Teatro alla Scala stage. Dolce & Gabbana presented additional Alta Moda collections inspired by Chinese art culture in Beijing, China, and Tokyo, Japan.
2018
Alta Moda took to the seas in 2018, onboard the Steamship Concordia. The collection honored the first Italian historical novel, The Betrothed.
2019
More than 400 guests attended the first Alta Moda event in Agrigento, Sicily. A December event in Milan focused on a new menswear collection.
2020
COVID-19 forced Dolce & Gabanna to move the show to an online event in July 2020. A live event was hosted in September of this year in Florence.
2021
The 2021 event brought models to the Venice runways on gondolas as Dolce & Gabanna paid tribute to the 1600th anniversary of the city.
2022
The four-day extravaganza celebrating Dolce & Gabanna’s Alta Moda was held in the same place as the premier event: Sicily. While the party has changed locales over the last decade, the luxurious ambiance of the fashion line has remained the same, draping the guests in opulence, artistry, and exclusivity.