The peekaboo and padlocked parallel

“Eroticism is a fundamental part of the Dolce & Gabbana style,” said Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce yesterday.

The comment was meant to explain an exhibit of photographs by Steven Klein of the two designers at their home in Portofino, opening the night after their show, but it could just as easily explain what was on their runway.

After all, from the playfully fetishistic silver metallic corsets on every garment, some with their own padlock, to the sheer tulle and lace ballgown over a nude satin bodysuit, the plasticised leopard bubble skirt, and silver flower-embroidered stretch tulle dress with peekaboo sides and waist, vestiges of the references Klein used for his pictures – Fellini, Visconti, Helmut Newton – were all in there. The photographer said his work was “an exploration of decadence and morality, and how the two remain parallel structures,” and what better way to describe a sheer crystal-sprinkled evening gown, both slightly comic in its transgressiveness and beautiful? Who needs a shrink when you have fashion?