This year, Milan Fashion Week began on Wednesday, February 22 and ended on Tuesday, February 28. Though I usually look forward to this time of year, I was left reeling when it ended. On February 26, Dolce & Gabbana had their Fall 2017 runway show. Dolce & Gabbana is a luxury fashion company—Italian based—and they design beautiful, elaborate clothing that always leaves me with one word in my mind: wow. But not this time.

It seemed that this year, the designers for this company cared only about shock factor. When I sat down at my computer to watch the show's live stream online, I was shocked alright; but not at all in a good way. The first thing I noticed was models filing down the runway in t-shirts with pop icon Justin Bieber’s face on them and the word “KING” plastered along the hemline. Where is the sense of fashion in this? I understand everyone’s view on art and muse varies, but come on. Justin
Bieber on Dolce & Gabbana designs? In my opinion, this was done just to ignite a fire on social media.

The bizarreness didn’t end there. As I looked closer, I began recognizing some of the “models” strutting down the catwalk. I put this in quotations, because the people adorned in D&G’s latest designs were not professional high fashion models, but social media stars and celebrities. Young pop star Austin Mahone, whose fan base consists mainly of teenage girls, even performed at the showcase. At this point I was wondering to myself, am I really watching prestige-brand Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 2017 runway show, or is this some sort of joke? Some of these “models” included teen singer and songwriter Madison Beer (who was discovered by Justin Bieber, go figure), Vine star and teen heartthrob Cameron Dallas, former Nickelodeon actor Avan Jogia, and more.

Madison Beer for Dolce & Gabbana

Cameron Dallas for Dolce & Gabbana

I understand the strategy for trying to attract more attention and press to the collection and brand, but I don’t think this worked well for Dolce & Gabbana. While watching, I found myself looking at the celebrities walking—in shock and confusion—and not the most important thing, what people travel from all over the world to see: the designs. I was so distracted by the people wearing the clothes that I had to rewind the show and watch again in order to look at the actual articles of clothing.

What upsets me most about this happening is that fashion shows are supposed to be about exactly that: the fashion. And this one wasn’t. This show was about the social media craze, people talking about the brand, and creating an uproar to gain followers and fans. It wasn’t about the clothing, the design, the art. Many of the pieces showcased on the runway were absolutely stunning, but I don't believe they got the true recognition they deserved because the focus was on the models and not the designs. It’s sad to see such a distinguished, esteemed brand that has created such beautiful, ornate articles of clothing forget about the art of their company in order to gain more of a social media following.