Just a couple of days ago Stefano Gabbana took to his Instagram to debut a new line of Abayas in the works.
Last week I was coincidentally thinking about how Dolce & Gabbana is one of the best. I personally always really love their aesthetic. They have this very rich & royal feel but they also stay rooted in family & culture as well. It never feels too far off from a Sunday family lunch under the Sicilian sun. Even with this consistency & expertise I feel D&G is one of the more overlooked labels in high fashion. Up until yesterday D&G had yet to break headlines in a while.
Well D&G definitely caught the world’s attention with their new collection of Abayas. The Abayas are a traditional black as well as beige. They also include details of lace, black & white patterns, & floral prints. Along with hijabs, D&G also styles the models with matching bags, sunglasses, & heels to pair with the abayas.
However, D&G is not the first to cater to the Muslim woman. In recent years designers such as Oscar de la Renta, DKNY, & even Mango have released one-time collections for the Muslim woman at around Ramadan season. H&M also recently featured model, Mariah Idrissi, in a campaign just last year. Mariah wore a more modern day Muslim woman ensemble with a traditional headscarf.
I can say that I am very happy to see so much positivity to surround this announcement. I have yet to see anything unaccepting or backlash towards this which is very calming for me. Trying to understand & appreciate different cultures can be challenging. You don’t want to offend anyone or come off as you’re mocking the culture so I’m really proud of D&G for how they executed this collection. If I were to fix anything about this campaign it would be to include actual Middle Eastern models like how H&M did. D&G allowed for the Middle Eastern culture to shine but failed to let Middle Eastern beauty take center stage as well which was a bit disappointing. This is truly a beautiful collection & I’m really hoping that I’m lucky enough to get to see some of the pieces in person.
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