The Kansas City Chiefs weren’t the only big winners at the Super Bowl.
In an event where brand exposure rivals the Hollywood red carpet, fashion brands now compete for eyeballs during tunnel walks, celebrity photo ops and the popular halftime show. But Travis Kelce’s sparkling Amiri suit, Taylor Swift’s hide-and-seek Area jeans, and even Kanye West’s low-budget Yeezy ad shot in the backseat of a car didn’t win the fashion stakes. That was Dolce & Gabbana.
The Italian fashion house is everywhere, on and off the stage at Nevada’s faithful stadium, reminding the more than 100 million game-goers that it has cemented its position as the glitzy brand of choice for today’s elite luxury musicians and athletes.
D&G has only just begun to dabble in the Super Bowl. Until 2022 (when the brand launches a “capsule collection designed exclusively for fans and inspired by the biggest game of the year”), its most famous Super Bowl moment may have been when co-founder Stefano Gabbana apologized for allegedly shaming Lady Gaga online 2017 bare stomach during the halftime show in 2017.
Beyoncé was photographed in a Dolce & Gabbana mini dress at the Wynn Las Vegas before Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Parkwood.
However, this year is different. At a pre-game event on Sunday, Beyoncé showed up at the nearby Wynn Las Vegas wearing a customized D&G deep-V mini dress adorned with Swarovski crystals, long leather boots and thick blonde hair.
If the label’s strategy was to associate itself with the most searched-for name of the night, it paid off: just hours later, Bey became a social media sensation after flirting with new music in a Verizon commercial.
But it was the halftime show that took D&G’s popularity to a whole new level – thanks in no small part to Arthur’s Boy.
The R&B superstar began the ceremony, seated and wearing a D&G fur-collared long wool coat (a faux fur coat, the brand noted in a press release) embroidered with Swarovski crystals, pearls and nature-inspired details. Within seconds, he shed his white coat to reveal an interesting asymmetrical aviator jacket and matching pants.
He completed the look with a pair of leather gloves encrusted with more Swarovski crystals and pearls, although he quickly removed one of them (many online commentators speculated that this was a tribute to the famous one-gloved Michael Jackson).
Kid Arthur performs in a crystal-encrusted D&G undershirt.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Attention then turned to Alicia Keys’ surprise performance of “If I Ain’t Got You.” She also wore D&G. Dressed in an organza cape and jumpsuit covered in – you guessed it – Swarovski crystals, her stunning red ensemble was one of the best looks of the night.
But then Kid Arthur appeared at Keith’s piano, wearing a customized crystal-embroidered undershirt by D&G. Unsurprisingly, this too came off, revealing the brand’s undershirt and eventually no shirt at all.
During a soaring guitar solo by HER, Arthur’s boy quickly changed out of his costume before rollerblading through “OMG” in a futuristic black-and-blue biker getup. It was courtesy of the late Virgil Abloh’s label, Off-White, not D&G, but the Italian fashion house’s PR offensive was complete – not only because it had to showcase its product on one of the biggest stages in the entertainment industry, but also because it had R&B stars singing its praises.
“Jermaine Dupri was actually the first person to introduce me to Dolce & Gabbana,” Usher told Vogue magazine in a behind-the-scenes video of his last fitting. “I do think the fabrics and the embellishment of the garments is something that’s really unique about them, and I wanted to have a little bit of that.”