The designers, no longer content to wow audiences with biannual mainline fashion shows, have laboured on a new, ultra-lavish couture collection for months.

Dolce & Gabbana invited dozens of couture clients, starry ambassadors (Scarlett Johansson and Stephanie Seymour) and a lucky few journalists (caveat: not us, alas) to witness its debut in a 36-hour extravaganza. There was opera, there was Italian cuisine, there were fireworks, and man, was there fashion.

Accounts from the fashion front lines paint a compelling picture. The 73 looks encompassed hand-woven lace, silk floral embroidery, pencil-skirted suits and wisps of Sicilian widow chiffon, all worn with heaps of jewels and luxe kitten heels.

The Telegraph’s Lisa Armstrong provided a window into the experience, and an idea of the designers’ motivation. ‘When we started out 27 years ago, our dream was to become a maison like Chanel, old Chanel,’ Gabbana told her. ‘And now, maybe, this dream is coming true.’