Housed within the Palazzo Vecchio, the hulking 12th-century fortress which sits at the heart of the Tuscan capital, the show itself was mounted against the magnificent surrounds of the Giorgio Vasari-designed Salone dei Cinquecento. Monica Belluci – the bella donna to end all bella donnas – launched proceedings (receiving the keys to the city from the mayor as she went, naturalmente), the soundtrack was overblown Italian opera at its finest and the clothes, well, the clothes were fit for the back of Lorenzo de’ Medici.

Last night’s collection will not have disappointed. Full to bursting with brocade velvet blazers, silk blouses the colour of chianti and jewel-caked slippers fit for the Gattopardo himself, Domenico and Stefano’s latest Alta Sartoria show was a celebration of all things Italian, certainly, but it was also a paean to the high-octane world of high fashion a world many of those on the front row will have missed during the past few months of the pandemic.

Alta Sartoria translate to High Tailoring and in the most italian way mixed with the finest of fabrics, the most skillful tailors and a touch of baroque art and style Dolce and Gabbana gave us a show to gasp for. as close to haute couture as menswear gets the show that Domenico and Stefano’s wealthiest clients wish to attend season after season, eager to drop a quarter of a million or more on an encrusted silk smoking jacket or a heavily embroidered tuxedo.

“We have always looked upon the Florentine Renaissance and its protagonists with great admiration,” said Domenico and Stefano at the close of the show. “The arts, culture and knowledge reached such heights in that period that they continue to be taken as a model of perfection to this day. If we look at the works of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli or Piero della Francesca, to name just a few, we cannot help but be enchanted by them, even though more than five centuries have passed since their execution. The eternal beauty contained in these masterpieces is so unique that there are no words to describe it.”

The show have light to the fashion world, a much needed distraction to take our minds of everything that is happening in our day to day lives, this is a fashion CPR that the industry needs to keep going at keep pushing to show that even in hard times fashion can still shine and bring joy and glamour.