Dolce&Gabbana, characterised by uncompromisingly unique designs, elegance, and a dedication to authenticity, spotlights its finely honed Italian craft in the great city of Rome with the Alta Sartoria Roma 2025 Castel Sant’Angelo men’s collection. Volcanic cobalt cobbled streets and storied, iconic monuments mark Italy’s capital, with meandering alleys that instil a sense of lingering wanderlust. Timeless and deeply historic, it’s the perfect atmosphere for the luxury fashion house’s vision: to pay homage to a national legacy of ecclesiastical tailoring.
Drawing from the rich heritage of landmarks and a culture of celebratory rituals, the collection boasts pieces reflecting the golden age of Italian cinema. It joins a number of accomplished contemporaries—such as Edward Berger, director of the Oscar-winning film Conclave—whose flowy crimson liturgical vestments and striking cinematographic compositions depict the beauty and elegance of the clergy in a similar fashion. Painstakingly hand-painted with the finest handpicked materials, its craftsmanship echoes the country’s artisanal roots, recalling the masterpieces of Michelangelo, Bernini, and Raphael, the artistic bastions of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Castel Sant’Angelo is an architectural triumph that serves as the series’ magnificent backdrop. Once the tallest building in Rome, it was visited by the Archangel Michael in 590 AD, according to legend. It has taken many different forms since its conception, mirrored by the Dolce&Gabbana brand itself. The rotunda began originally as a mausoleum, built to celebrate the greatness of Emperor Hadrian, who commissioned it, but has since transformed into a powerful fortress, a Papal residence, and a museum. Richly layered, its grandeur is a mesh of Rome’s imperial opulence and the quiet reverence of the Papacy, which Alta Sartoria Roma depicts with a clear confidence.
Highlights from the collection include a bodice in golden brass filigree, crafted with the codes of ecclesiastical iconography in mind. Intricately detailed and glimmering in the sunlight, it wraps around the upper body with the solidity of protective liturgical armour. Indented according to the model’s anatomy and shining with precious stones studded by hand (using the same techniques afforded to sacred objects), the final product emerges as regal and statuesque.
The bodice that follows spotlights the Apostle Saint Peter, who is believed to have welcomed pilgrims along the Sant’Angelo bridge. Made out of a lightweight fabric painstakingly sculpted to take the appearance of marble, the albino mock-statue clutches the large key to Heaven against the model’s chest. Reflecting liturgical robes, white draping hugs and hangs around the torso, which solidifies the product’s portentous air.
Chasubles, stoles, and religious ceremonies inspire this last bodice—a completely hand-embroidered gold filigree chest piece conceived in gold bullion thread, and contrasted by an obsidian black base. Gemstones are placed along the gold with a ritual-like intentionality that follows the solemnity of the saints. A cross adorns the chest piece’s centre, and the specificity of its patterns is redolent of those that line ancient reliquaries.
Alongside Alta Sartoria Roma 2025, the brand has also released two other collections. From the castle, turn your gaze to marvel at The Roman Forum, the city’s revered axis for politics, economics, and religion. Enter Alta Moda Roma: gowns and garments designed with the glamour of 1950s Roman cinema, a time that cemented Italy as a high fashion frontrunner. Meanwhile, Alta Gioeilleria Roma features jewellery that takes inspiration from the architectural aesthetic patterns of Rome, all while it channels the spirit and stories that permeate the streets.
As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome. In true Dolce&Gabbana fashion, it honours its heritage and chooses the path of artistic integrity, endless creativity, and deep reverence for the culture of craft that shaped it.
Photos courtesy of Luigi&Iango
