The first Alta Moda salon show by Dolce & Gabbana had all the right ingredients — luxurious eveningwear and the highest level of craftsmanship — but the dynamic duo turned their craft into more than that. They made it an experience, one that evoked the richness of the Italian way of life.

The three-day-long Sicilian extravaganza involved Bellini’s bel canto opera Norma in an ancient Roman amphitheatre; an incredible fireworks display synced to Verdi’s Valzer Brillante against a picture-perfect Mount Etna; and a fashion show that was truly majestic, held in the Hotel San Domenico, a former church.

The seduction continues wherever these clothes go. A few weeks later, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce personally selected four exquisite ensembles and sent them to Mumbai, where Vogue photographed them against the historic splendour of the city’s Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum.