It was a meta moment at the Dolce and Gabbana show. Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana created a big wet kiss of a collection dedicated to their beloved Italy. A collection that had the added goal of becoming the most selfie-filled fashion show of all time. 

Gabbana certainly knows the power of this pursuit. His personal Instagram feed has clocked in over 615,000 thousand followers and has had its share of selfies over the years. 

The set up was smart. Giant screens placed over the heads of the audience announced just before the show that models would be taking selfies with them and to enjoy this interactive participation in the event. And that is exactly what happened. The models would stop intermittently as they walked down the catwalk in silk floral print pajama suits, semi sheer lingerie-inspired dresses, or stripy pants and take selfies with their cell phones. These would then appear, almost in real time, on the screens above. 

As this was going on, most of the audience was madly trying to snap their own photos for social media posterity. Often trying to capture the perfect selfie shot on the screens at the same time as a model passes by in bright dresses covered in sequined Italian monument patches, picture postcard print shifts, or flowing majolica ceramic motif gowns. 

The designer duo used their clothing as portals through which the fashion world could travel their native country and see all the tourist sites of Italy without having to leave their seats – a voyeuristic journey not unlike the one taken while scrolling through images on Instagram. 

The only wrinkle in all of this was that the media savvy mise-en-scène was so distracting that it was hard for the actual clothing to register more than a flash of color here, a shimmer of sequins there, and a few choice blooms. But no matter, everyone can now check out all the photos online. And soon many people will be doing just that via their Dolce and Gabbana branded case covered cell phones.