Dolce & Gabbana presented its Fall/Winter 2026 menswear collection in Milan under the title The Portrait of Man, positioning the show as a response to growing uniformity in contemporary culture. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana framed the presentation as a series of sartorial character studies, ranging from the introspective thinker and creative visionary to the Mediterranean sensualist and restless romantic.
As outlined in the show notes, these figures were not conceived as archetypes of masculinity but as “human energies rendered with authenticity.” Ahead of the show, the designers addressed their concerns directly, stating: “There is so much conformity today. We wanted to celebrate individuality, the stories and singularities behind every man, and the complexity of his inner world, his memories, and his humanity.”
The collection continues the house’s long-standing dialogue between past and present, balancing its gangster-chic origins of the 1990s with the Sicilian opulence that defined the 2000s. This narrative unfolded across 100 looks. The opening look featured a dramatic grey-and-black fur coat worn over slim black trousers and finished with brown lace-up Edwardian-style boots.
Tailoring spanned multiple decades, from double-breasted 1940s two-piece suits with sharp peak lapels in thick greyscale herringbone to pinstripe suits recalling the excess of 1980s yuppie style. Elsewhere, the collection included longline trench coats, deep V-neck shirts imbued with the house’s signature sensuality, thick knit cardigans in chocolate brown and muted grey, robe-style jackets in plain fabrics and leopard prints, as well as tracksuits and distressed blue-wash denim.
Fur remained a key material, appearing on coats, vests, stoles and cardigan collars, while polka dots introduced a lighter note on ties, scarves, and burgundy and deep green dress shirts. Midway through the show, sportswear entered the narrative in the form of red and navy “DG”-branded soccer and basketball jerseys styled with striped shorts and track pants. One look was paired with silver football-inspired sneakers, aligning with the slim sneaker silhouettes seen on recent runways, including Spring 2026 collections from Celine and Dries Van Noten.
Accessories played a central role in suggesting individuality. Tie pins and lapel pins with drooping, encrusted chains appeared throughout, alongside oversized floral brooches referencing the house’s enduring affinity for florals. The iconic Dolce & Gabbana rosary necklace also returned, worn directly on the skin beneath deep V-neck shirts. In the sportswear looks, models wore headphones and carried bags filled with jackets, hinting at lives beyond the runway.
Despite the diversity of silhouettes and textures, the emphasis on individuality did not extend to casting. The all-white lineup prompted criticism, with fashion narrator Elias Medini describing the show as “50 shades of white.” In the end, The Portrait of Man offered a carefully constructed and visually rich vision of masculinity, yet one shaped by a limited and exclusionary perspective.
