Classic performance

Dolce & Gabbana stages the men's haute couture collection at its headquarters in Corso Venezia, the site of former Palazzo Labus, first built in Milan in 1565.

It was the first time the stage of La Scala had been given over to fashion.

"It's a great success," Alexander Pereira, director of La Scala, announced.

Paolo Besana, La Scala's director of public relations, tells China Daily over lunch that at La Scala, if the audience did not like an opera, they would shout "boo" immediately, but for this show, nobody did so.

So why La Scala?

The venue is a combination of fashion and opera, which are the quintessence of Italian culture, Besana says.

"La Scala is a symbol of Italian culture," 57-year-old designer Domenico Dolce tells China Daily, sharing the story of how the fashion house was inspired to do the show here.

The muse was "Biki" (Elvira Leonardi Bouyeure, 1906-99), granddaughter of composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) who wrote Turandot, Tosca and Madame Butterfly.

Puccini called her Biki and often took her to opera houses.

She saw the premiere of Turandot at La Scala in 1926.