Tailored mosaic

Being someone who is often to be found lacking in sense,

of either the common or dress variety, I have been a little

tardy in my discovery of Dolce & Gabbana's Milan

Winter 2014 collection - Tailored Mosaic.

I shall, however, be keeping an eye on local charity shops

from now on for when the Acle fashionistas decide to

weed out their wardrobes with a bored sigh of,

"This mosaic look is so yesterday."

I wonder if it would go with wellingtons?

These extraordinary creations were inspired by the ancient

mosaics of Monreale in Sicily, a city which blossomed in

the 11th century with the arrival of the Normans.

 The beautiful cathedral was built at the behest of King William II

of Altavilla circa 1180 AD along with the archiepiscopal

palace and cloister.

Amongst the art treasures is a series of golden mosaics one of

which depicts the crowning of William II by Christ and another

the dedication of the church by old William again.  I suppose

 if you're the patron you can, in theory, appear in the finished work

as many times as your budget will allow. 

The standard of

workmanship was the finest money could buy and craftsmen

came from as far as Venice and Byzantium to help realise

this striking work of art.

Dolce & Gabbana have also employed artisans of the highest level

to create their own mosaics in fabric, painstakingly adding each

tiny piece of material stitch by stitch to adorn dresses,

shoes and bags alike.

The entire collection is Byzantine with a capital B

and really quite wonderful.