D & G Spring 2012

The paisley, the family crests, the Italian tile designs inscribed into the clothing present at D & G's Spring/Summer 2012 runway show all seemed to follow this season's growing trend for the bold at the expense of the commercial. It emphasized a style one would commonly associate with an out-of-touch older man and brought it to the young of today. A sense of tradition that I believe was successful in making the clothes wearable through the color schemes and shapes that gave the clothes life, something not easy to do. Especially since when you think of the market or the wearer of these clothes it is inevitably the young, party-going types because of its casualness, a true achievement in itself.

With this idea in mind, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabana sent the models down the runway in a variety of material, mostly consisting of the newly-popular and highly-comfortable silk foulard with denim, mixed in innumerable ways with accessories that cater to the young. The colors, the first look consisting of gray all the way to the end with a bold red were unbelievable, the bombers and tapered pants looked great together as they took away from the old-men style. This was fought successfully to the very end, when the swim shorts of male youth came out, which will undoubtedly turn up on beaches throughout the world.

One of the most interesting things this season was the concept of denim mixed with foulard, a few times one whole piece such as the military jacket that came out with pockets of foulard, undeniably stylish and classy. In other moments the denim of the shorts turned into chino-like material, khaki that worked with the rest of the outfit as it was cuffed, tapered, or cut. The mixture of these two things presents a whole new way to think about style; something I find ground-breaking.

Of particular disappointment in my view were the accessories. The wayfarer sunglasses that were not bold enough, the cheesy hats that suggest a douche bag and the concept of a messenger bag mimicking the clothes were all things I wouldn't dare to go near at a store.

In due respect, D & G's collection this season was very impressive for its unconventional style and boldness that the two designers have put forward in previous collections and have come to be known for. At the expense of great style and design, however, I believe that they may have pushed the commercial too far away and jeopardized their sales; something I am sure they will make up for in the following season. They expect a lot from their customer, as I believe any designer should, and hope that these customers will see it for what it's worth.

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