Dolce & Gabbana’s New “From the Heart to the Hands” Exhibition Honors Every Inch of Italy

On Saturday, April 6, Cher could be found on the dance floor at DG Martini, Dolce & Gabbana’s nightclub/restaurant inside its Milan flagship, singing the lyrics to her 2000s hit “Believe.” She serenaded her boyfriend, Alexander Edwards, among a crowd of hundreds belting the lines along with her. The poignant moment at the discotheque came courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana, which hosted a soirée in celebration of its new exhibition, “Dal Cuore Alle Mani,” or “From the Heart to the Hands,” that evening. The sprawling show, held at the Palazzo Reale museum from April 7 through July 31, is a sumptuous retrospective on the Italian house’s alta moda, or haute couture arm, which has been active since the label’s first Alta Moda runway show in Taormina, Sicily, in 2012.

The exhibition is a celebration of all things Italy, and features room after room of fashion from past alta Moda, alta Sartoria, and alta Gioielleria collections, alongside pieces of visual arts and crafts (commissioned paintings, Murano and Venetian glass chandeliers, Byzantine mosaics) that encapsulate the spirit of each Italian city highlighted—and their art forms.

Prior to the rager at the club, Cher had joined Demi Moore, Naomi Campbell, Anitta, Lupita Nyong’o, Theo James, Isabella Rossellini, Helen Mirren, and many more for an advanced walk-through of the show, followed by dinner inside the halls of the museum, which is located right across the street from the Duomo di Milano. As they wound through the themed rooms at the exhibition—one is dedicated to the 1963 Western The Leopard (or Il Gattopardo in Italian), while another features live couturiers and tailors sewing on dress forms in a re-created Alta Moda atelier—the celebrities were treated to insider info from curator Florence Müller, who informed guests that artworks created from AI and NFTs were also included in the exhibition. “But of course, the dresses are very important to this exhibition,” she explained. “It was a great adventure putting it together. Very intense, believe me.”

The looks—largely styled as they were first shown at their respective alta moda runway shows—are dazzling and flamboyant in that classic D&G way, a real celebration of la bella vita. A glittering picture of opulence, many of the pieces nod to Italian fine art, like a cropped jacket bearing an image of Gian Giacomo Caprotti’s Saint John the Baptist, or a sequined shirt with Leonardo da Vinci’s Portrait of a Musician on the front (both paintings, in fact, can be seen at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, a religious museum just minutes away the Palazzo Reale). And although the core of Italian art, craftsmanship, and aesthetic lie at the heart of this exhibition, there are plenty of global and pop culture references. In one room inspired by Greek mythology, Müller pointed out that a trio of glittering harnesses were exactly like the ones Lil Nas X wore in his “J Christ” music video.

Dolce & Gabbana’s reputation feels quite different in Italy compared to the United States. In Milan, the label is woven into the everyday cultural fabric—D&G’s presence can be felt in every corner: from its corporate offices, which span multiple blocks in the Porta Monforte neighborhood, to its various initiatives and sponsorships at institutions including the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, which is part sponsor of “Dal Cuore Alle Mani.” At a press conference for the exhibition held the day before the party, the room was packed with journalists, fashion fans, local government, and even a high-ranking priest associated with Ambrosiana. “This exhibition is a personal message from Domenico and Stefano to the city of Milan,” D&G’s managing director Fedele Usai said during the panel, “and all over the country of Italy.” Despite that hyperlocal messaging, the show plans to tour worldwide beginning in 2025.