Inside Dolce & Gabbana’s Couture Love Letter to Italy: ‘Dal Cuore Alle Mani’
The intersection between fashion and art.
Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome
Ever feel a pull to a time when life was slower, simpler, and deliciously peaceful? Picture this: old nonnas crocheting in the street perched on a sun-drenched stoop just outside their front door to people watch, neighbours gossiping, a cart rolling past with the sound of church bells in the distance. Now imagine all that heritage, all that dolce far niente energy, spun into silk, hand-embroidered with gold thread, and placed on a mannequin under baroque lighting. Dolce & Gabbana sets that nostalgia in couture form, reclaiming ‘la dolce vita’ through every stitch.
Welcome to Dolce & Gabbana’s exhibition bringing together over two hundred unique couture creations: Alta Moda, Alta Sartoria and Alta Gioelleria. Affectionately titled "Dal Cuore Alle Mani: Dolce & Gabbana" (From the Heart to the Hands), this exhibition is an unabashed open love letter to Italian culture. An immersive haute couture exhibition where the designers are empowered by unconventionality and simultaneously anchored in the Italian ‘fatto a mano’ signature.
Fashion Meets Heritage in Rome’s Grandest Gallery
Housed in the neoclassical jewel that is Palazzo delle Esposizioni, a monumental cultural landmark designed by Pio Piacentini in 1883, the exhibition returns to Italy after success in Paris and Milan. The symbolic monument, once a spectacular building born to celebrate art, now transformed into the architectural stage for this sartorial narrative, is the perfect space where the richness of the garments isn’t the sole thing to attract the spectators, but the scenery in every single room is spectacular too. Indeed, a completely silent, yet deeply meaningful and intimate dialogue is created between the D&G creations and the majesty of the neoclassical architecture that houses them.
Curated by Florence Müller and brought to life by the scenographers of Agence Galuchat, the show invites visitors into a dreamlike journey through more than 200 Alta Moda creations, each one celebrating the, as mentioned above, fatto a mano – Italy’s revered handcraft tradition. Tracing the designers’ deep emotional connection with their homeland is easy when absorbing the breathtaking rooms that morph from temples to theatres and living landscapes of the innermost workings of chosen Italian regions.
With this exhibition, the two designers play tribute to the Eternal City that hosts their haute couture collections and where the bridge in front of Castel Sant’Angelo becomes the literal runway of sartorial fashion with the dresses coming to life in the midst of the angel statues sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
If the baroque style and attention to detail are at the heart of who you are, as it is for the designers of D&G, the exhibition ‘Dal Cuore Alle Mani’ is for you and we are pleased to welcome you on board this sartorial train.
A Love Letter in Ten Chapters
The exhibition is structured like a journey through the gems of Italy. So, if you have no way of seeing everything Italy has to offer this summer for yourself, you can board our train whilst we pit stop in numerous Italian regions where art, Italian culture and sartorial traditions intertwine to pay tribute to this country rich in history and cultural heritage. Thus, the journey will span through ten immersive rooms – each themed around a region, an art form, or a mood anchored in Italian culture that has inevitably shaped Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s work. The creations are narrated through themes that highlight the multiple Italian cultural influences at the root of Dolce&Gabbana. It’s a journey from the heart (the inspiration) to the hands (the craft), hence the title.
Let’s dive into the journey this exhibition desires us to take questioning the relationship between being and appearing.
Fatto a Mano (Handmade)
As the very first room, ‘Fatto a Mano’ introduces us to the creative imperative: designs born from the heart, made tangible by the hands. It’s the soul of Italian fashion. The room opens with a mannequin showcasing The pièce de résistance – a rotating gown crowned with none other than the Colosseum as a skirt – an opulent metaphor for
the dialogue between fashion and Roman architecture that underlines the brand’s connection to its Italian roots.
The exhibition board explains how each garment here reinterprets local crafts: Capri’s colourful majolica tiles become shimmering embroidery. Threads mimic the white ceramics of Grottaglie. Florence’s Renaissance architecture appears as lace overlays and baroque appliqué. Even traditional Sardinian costumes inspire fine wool corsetry and golden filigree fit for a modern princess.
And at the center of it all? A show-stopping gown entirely embroidered in punto croce (cross-stitch). With a sky-blue base bursting into pink floral cascades, the dress features an embroidered neoclassical vase, making the piece feel like a 3D fresco.
Arte Sarda (Sardinian Art)
This room is a tribute to Sardinian tradition and artistic legacy, housing collections that were showcased at the July 2024 red carpet among the evocative ruins of Nora, an ancient Phoenician city. Whilst the Alta Sartoria opened with the traditional Sant’Efisio procession, set within a rustic palazzo laden with the voices of the Tenores di Bitti. The conical stone towers known as nuraghi inspire the monumental scenography of the room, handwoven fabrics recall Sardinian emblems, and ceremonial pleated shirts and corsets bear the mark of local artisan artistry. White and black wool coats echo the mastruca, the traditional sheepskin garment worn by the Mamuthones during Mamoiada’s carnival ritual – a dance of winter and summer, good and evil. It is a visual and sensory narrative that strives to honour the island’s identity.
L’Arte e la Maestria del Vetro (The Glassmaking tradition)
Next stop: Venice, darling. With chandeliers, shards of glass, and mirrored walls reflecting the light in a dizzying dance, this room pays tribute to Venetian glassmaking, showcasing a collection where gowns shimmer with crystal embroidery. The intricate, playful tricks of light the room offers interact with the intricate details and embroidery of the designs creating a magical, almost surreal room. It’s giving fantasy ballroom. So take a precious person and dance your heart away through this surreal Venetian ballroom whilst imagining yourself in an intricately embroidered dress.
A shimmering chamber of mirrored chandeliers and refracted light, this immersive scene showcases pieces from the 2021 Venice collection – delicate crystal embroidery paying homage to the Venetian glassmaking tradition emblematic of La Seronissima, all echoing the brand’s embrace of artisanal craftsmanship.
Le Tradizioni Siciliane (The Sicilian Traditions)
As your metaphorical train rolls south, we arrive in the fourth room – a tribute to Domeinco Dolce – Sicily. Domenico Dolce’s roots are honoured in this picturesque setting that is adorned with colourful mosaics, underscoring the evocative spirit of Sicily with its vibrant ceramics whose roots stretch back to the Mycenaean era. The floor is a tapestry of mosaics, a traditional brightly painted processional carretto (cart) anchors the scene, and the mirrored ceiling reflects it all and doubles the drama of the island’s heritage. The processional carretto features hand-painted wooden panels and ceramic tiles crafted by three renowned artisans: Salvatore Sapienza, the Bevilacqua brothers and Gianfranco Fiore.
Il Barocco Bianco (The White Baroque)
Still in Sicily, room five propels us into the white baroque Sicilian churches, channeling the craft of Baroque-era stucco masters, in particular the work of sculptor Giacomo Serpotta, whose mastery of pure white stucco interiors defined Sicilian architecture between the 17th and 18th centuries. The gowns here are angelic in white lace, silk mikado, and organza. Each one is a living sculpture, fluttering with reverence and sensuality, inspired by the architecture of the churches.
Anatomia Sartoriale (Tailoring Anatomy)
Corsets, curves, construction. This room is a homage to the study of the human form, tracing how undergarments and silhouettes have evolved. In this introspective room, corsetry and body-form exploration trace fashion’s evolution from 18th century and 19th century boned structures to 1950s guepieres and provocative Helmut Newton inspired silhouettes. This room houses the muted but intricately intimate dialogue between garment and body.
Le Divinità in Sogno (Dream of Divinity)
A room worthy of the gods. Inspired by classical temples, specifically the ‘Valle dei Templi’ in Agrigento, this space showcases flowing tunics, kimonos and brocade corsets that turn the female figure into a mythic muse and celebrate divine femininity. Once again, this room is a tribute to the designers’ home land. Every look channels ancient power with modern elegance that stands the test of time.
Vestire l'Architettura e la Pittura (Dressing Architecture and Painting)
As the official D&G website tells us, creating a garment is a lot like building a house: an architect begins with sketches to define shapes and volumes, just as a designer does when outlining the lines of a dress. In this refined interplay between Haute Couture, interior design, and Italian architecture, visitors step into a room that holds pieces inspired by the masters of Italian art. To create an even more magical atmosphere, frescoes of Palazzo Farnese in Rome (painted by Annibale Carracci at the close of the 16th century) are projected and brought to life, further celebrating Italian art.
Through these Haute Couture creations, the designers’ admiration for Italian Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Botticelli, Caravaggio, Raffaello, Leonardo da Vinci, Giorgione is unmistakable. Their influence flows through embroidered brushstrokes, rich palettes, and silhouettes that feel like wearable altarpieces. Each gown recalls their works through meticulous design.
L’Opera (The Opera)
Shaped by the drama of opera and ballet, every garment in this room becomes a living artwork, embodying a deep devotion to timeless elegance. The theatricality of this room acts as a stage for the garments presented. The pieces are arranged around a lavishly set dining table – echoing another theme close to the designers’ hearts: the joy of food and the spirit of community (essential expressions of Italian culture and the roots of Italian identity.)
Among the designers’ favourite female characters of the Italian opera are Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata and Attila, as well as Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.
At the heart of this section stands a breathtaking macramé lace gown, built on a basket-shaped frame with a corseted bodice, crowned with delicate gold filigree, and veiled in tulle edged with lace appliqués. Chosen as the emblem of the exhibition, this dress recalls the figure of the Madonnina, who presides over the highest spire of Milan’s Cathedral. A personal tribute to Milan, the city where every design is not only imagined, but brought to life by the hands of their skilled artisans.
What are you waiting for? Book the Flight. Pack a Fan. Be extravagant.
This isn’t just fashion. It’s an act of cultural devotion. It’s a celebration of identity, of artistry, and of the unapologetic beauty of being too much. From corseted angels to cross-stitched masterpieces, D&G remind us that fashion isn’t just what you wear – it's what raised you, what you inherit, what you love.
And if, like the designers, baroque details and dramatic flair are your birthright, then this exhibit is your holy land.
Free your inner diva. She’s got heritage to reclaim.
XOXO, The Fashion Stock Market
All Photos: Dolce & Gabbanna Website
Editor: Annaliese Persaud
