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Dante's poems, Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream and Homer's epic are among the sources of inspiration for Alta Moda, the latest Dolce & Gabbana collection.

Luxury garment fiends gathered in Portofino to enjoy the Italian designers' collection. The view was magical, and the feast golden.

Alta Moda was launched in Taormina, Sicily, the homeland of Domenico Dolce, the next stop was Venice, then came Capri, and then Portofino, where the two designers have villas. They advertise the most beautiful destinations of their country – jointly with the Italian tourism organisation, writes the British Vogue.

Preparations lasted a whole year, and the cheapest outfit in the Alta Moda collection has a price tag of $40,000. It goes beyond women's clothing. The Alta sartoria collection is for men and Alta gioelleria covers the jewellery section.

Dolce's villa, which has a huge garden, hosted pavilions, velvet stools and vases sporting blue and white hydrangeas. The primary colour was gold. Gold was even the dress code of the evening.

For this year's four-dimensional presentation, the designer duo has recreated pictures of the Italian province, replete with characters from Greek mythology. Among them were Theseus, the mythical king of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. The review, says Dolce for New Yorker magazine, is an attempt to imagine a coexistence of Homer, the dreamer, with Dante, the poet of purgatory and heaven, and Shakespeare, with his mad humour.

An unexpected combination amid a huge pine forest overlooking the bay of Portofino. "You feel as if you're in Greece," said Gabbana. To this can be added the story of one of the most famous socialites of Beirut who was bragging about her holidays in the Peloponnese: "It was marvellous. I had cash on me."

The Golden party, said New Yorker, took place at a time when the Greek ministers were in Brussels negotiating the future of their country. "Let's not pretend that the people there can buy a pair of D&G shoes. But Alta Moda customers can hardly be affected by the economic crisis. These people live in another world. I do not live in this world." Although Gabbana is the third richest individual in Italy and Dolce occupies the 30th place according to Forbes, they are trying to stand clear of comparisons with the rich. "If you start measuring up to them, you'll never stop."

Dressed in gold, Kylie Minogue performed some of her hits. The party wrapped up late at night with fireworks. In golden colours, they spelled out up in the night sky the designers' names and their collection: Dolce & Gabanna Alta Moda".