Ensemble

Dolce & Gabbana’s spring–summer 2003 presentation culminated in a rush of "classical" maidens. Dressed in gossamer tops with sandals appropriate for the hunt, they recalled the Greek goddess Artemis. The models raced down the runway at a pace intended both to animate their light garments and to draw them against their bodies. Recalling the wet-drapery of the Victory of Samothrace, the gathered and blousoned white chiffon ensembles provided a dramatically agitated surface of folds and a sensual disclosure of the body beneath. The designers, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, are famous for their knowing manipulations of sexual stereotypes and their provocative mixing of high and low cultural references. They subvert culturally bound expectations of male and female, even as they embrace and exaggerate familiar attributes of gender. In this example, ethereal feminine effects were accompanied by an element of almost discordant masculinity: calf-height, studded black leather sandals. By merging disjunctive elements from the dress of woodland nymphs and Homeric heroes, these designers, perhaps serendipitously, suggested the ambiguous allure of Artemis, whose chiton was raised like a man’s to free her legs and whose sandals were strapped securely to endure the rigors of the chase.