Dolce & Gabbana dream of a star-studded winter

Models wear creations by (L-R) Versace, Fendi, John Richmond and Dolce & Gabbana. Photos / AP

MILAN - It was the biggest front-row lineup at a Milan fashion show in ages.

Naomi Watts, Freida Pinto, Kate Hudson, Eva Mendez, Lauren Hutton, Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova and, of course, Scarlett Johansson, face of the newly launched Dolce & Gabbana makeup, were all on hand for the Dolce & Gabbana autumn-winter 2009-2010 collection, presented yesterday in the theatre of a renovated movie house - now the designing duo's headquarters.

Dressed in a light green, short-sleeved silk dress, Johansson kept her eyes intent on the runway, especially for the gowns with the face of the late Marilyn Monroe printed on them.

Johansson, at present a brunette, is done up in the makeup ad campaign to look like Monroe with bleached-blond hair and bright red lipstick.

"She is beautiful, and she has beautiful skin," Stefano Gabbana said of the 24-year-old Johansson, star of several of Woody Allen's more recent films.

Gabbana said the actress embodied the concept of beauty of young people today.

Over a breakfast chat, the designers said their collection shown later in the day was inspired by surrealist art, with its desire to push the existing limits.

The collection is full of details from buttons to decorated headbands, ruffled stocking seams and scarves, which look like gloves.

The winter silhouette is slim at the bottom and elaborate from the waist up.

The shoulder is super-large, created by complicated twisting and turning of fabric and fur.

Flashes of shocking pink liven up the main black and white colour scheme.

Showy jewellery, wedged velvet pumps and a sturdy granny bag complete the eccentric yet contemporary look.

Admitting that the collection was slightly "far-out," the duo said it was their way of combatting tough times.

"We felt the necessity to dream, to go beyond," Gabbana said.

"Just like a woman in crisis, we put on more makeup."

Yesterday evening the designing duo was scheduled to host a gala event with American Vogue for the opening of an exhibit dedicated to beauty.

"Extreme Beauty in Vogue", which showcases photographs from the 1930s through to the present, aims through the camera lens to study the changes in the perception of beauty from makeup to photographic manipulation to more recent uses of plastic surgery.

Many of the stars who showed up at the fashion runway were expected to turn out for the gala.

The exhibit will run in Milan from March 4-10 at the Palazzo della Ragione.

- AP