Dolce & Gabbana's runway opened with drones. Image credit: Dolce & Gabbana
Italian fashion label Dolce & Gabbana’s fall/winter 2018 runway show opened with mechanistic models.
At the start of the Feb. 25 presentation, drones floated down the catwalk carrying handbags, allowing the focus to be on the accessories rather than an entire look. Dolce & Gabbana has previously integrated technology into its showcases, responding to the growing digitization of fashion.
Tech trends
Dolce & Gabbana’s show began with a procession of drones. Attached to the hovering robots were multihued Devotion handbags.
Per CNBC, technical issues delayed the show’s start for 45 minutes. To pull off the feat, the audience was also asked to turn off the WiFi on their mobile devices.
Dolce & Gabbana's drone in action. Image credit: Dolce & Gabbana
In an earlier blending of fashion and technology, Dolce & Gabbana took social media content one step further during its show at Milan Fashion Week in 2015, curating an intimate look at the catwalk from a model’s perspective.
As they walked down the runway, models snapped selfies that were then broadcast on screens throughout the venue and were also shared on Dolce & Gabbana’s social accounts. Today, fashion shows are very well-documented on social media from both the front row and the brand’s vantage point, but by allowing models to control the camera, the label ended up with an intimate look at the show likely to stand out in consumers’ social feeds (see story).
This is not the first time that drones have appeared at Milan Fashion Week.
In a previous Fashion Week, Italian fashion house Fendi gave consumers a different view of its runway show live-stream through high-definition cameras attached to drones.
In addition to the standard view of the runway, consumers watching the brand's fall/winter 2014 show on Fendi’s Web site during Milan Fashion Week had the ability to switch to the camera angle of the aerial drones. This new way of filming the runway show allowed viewers at home to have a unique experience and feel more a part of the action, as they could switch vantage points (see story).