Throughout the fall ’21 season that has unfolded virtually over the past month, designers have presented a dreamy vision of the future, eager to cast aside their sweatpants and slippers for romantic dresses, serious suits and a whole harvest of high heeled boots in anticipated celebration of the end of the pandemic.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are also looking to the future, but their vision is slightly different — though no less full of optimism and glee.
The Italian designers turned to the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) to utilize its research in iCub and R1 multifunctional humanoid robots, a highly specialized research activity for ITT in the field of service robotics and artificial intelligence.
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The catch? The robots generated silhouettes and looks through the lens of a ’90s-supermodel inspiration. Leather harnesses, neon animal prints, elaborate headwear and sneakers covered in a clear PVC shield populated the runway, which was comprised of 135 looks.
What did the robots come up with? Dark sharp-shouldered, double-breasted skirt-suits with large gold buttons, matching black leather gloves, ankle boots and mid-calf sheer black hosiery. Colorful outerwear and matching dresses in a graphic graffiti motif, chain-link, ankle-strap heels on foot. Holographic puffer coats with matching bikinis and snow boots, a look straight out of a Missy Elliott music video.
To spread the message of the virtual show, Dolce & Gabbana tapped Kourtney Kardashian to model one of the looks. “Love these vintage inspired pieces from today’s virtual @DolceGabbana fashion show 🖤 late 90s/early 2000s nostalgia vibes #DGNextChapter,” she captioned the social media post.
If the robots are picking up on things, the next collection will be all about the early 2000s, as the reality TV star cleverly foreshadowed.
