Dolce & Gabbana's Golden Baroque Look in Milan Fashion Week

The young Sicilian widow may still wear a black veil but it doesn't stop her sashaying through Palermo's streets in hot pants embellished with Baroque gold, at least according to the Dolce & Gabbana show.

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said they drew strongly on the Sicilian Baroque tradition for inspiration for their collection, paraded under vast gold chandeliers covered in roses in front of a huge gilt-framed mirror.

Lace was a dominant theme: black veils were worn demurely over tiny velvet hot pants, some with added ruffles round the hips, worn with a tiny black cape and knee-high socks -- all decorated with ostentatious gold patterns.

There were delicate, transparent corsets and white knickerbockers -- both of which would spark more than cat calls if actually worn on the streets of Palermo -- as well as nude and beige dresses with flower prints.

Angels were everywhere: their cherub faces printed onto dresses, shoes, coats, bags and earrings, as if in an attempt to persuade admirers that this sultry Sicilian was actually as innocent as she claims underneath it all.

For a touch of luxury in the evening, a grey sparkling dress and a fur wrap, shown off to the stirring strains of Italian opera great Luciano Pavarotti.