The twisting road ends in front of a monumental stone castle spreading towards the rocks over the sea. The four-day Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda extravaganza in Sicily finishes tonight at a party held in the 13th century Castello Maniace. What’s described in Hollywood as ‘limo-lock’ is happening as the 200 or so black SUVs Dolce have shipped over to the island negotiate their way around the maze of narrow streets. The castle took its name from the Byzantine general who won Syracuse from the Arabs nearly one thousand years ago. Every major civilization in a series of ancient takeovers has left imprints on the island. And architecture that spans centuries, golden Baroque churches, rich, storied traditions, and troves of religious art is right up the designer’s street.
Clients have flown in from around the world—a bunch of journalists, DJs, too many celebrities to mention, actresses, movie producers, and Dame Helen Mirren (the Queen of D&G events)— performing a stylish takeover of one of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean. The designers are obsessively curious about the past; we enter under the portcullis into the central courtyard to sip cocktails looking out over the parapets at the same sea view, stretching into the mists of time as many queens of Sicily who resided in the fortress during the Middle Ages. The cavernous hall with its columns and vaulted ceiling has been made over in Dolce Casa zebra and leopard print, and the 3.5-meter thick walls ensure there’s no chance DJ Cassidy’s blasting music will waft out and wake the town.
Imagine a big-fat Italian family wedding, and you get the picture. Tables are laden with drinks, sweet cannoli, and pistachio cakes; children dash through the crowd eating gelato, everyone dances between tables when Anitta sings, and old friends reunite as Drew Barrymore and Sharon Stone throw their arms around each other. Love is in the air. Earlier, I watched black-veiled beauty, model Amelia Hamlin, slope off to dance on the sand with photographer Hugo Comte while Casey Affleck is locked in an embrace in the corner with girlfriend Caylee Cowan. “I’ve fallen in love,” one fashion-obsessed Texan confesses out of earshot of his husband. A sensational necklace with a 102-ct diamond drop from the magnificent Hellenic-inspired Alta Gioielleria collection had grabbed hold of his heart earlier in the day. “What do you think? The apartment in Paris or the stone?” he questions. For the record, I advised consummating the relationship with the diamond. It’s that type of evening.
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