Dolce & Gabbana - Runway - Milan Fashion Week - Menswear Spring/Summer 2026

Milan heat is hitting 30C – a reprieve from the 36-and-climbing temperatures in Florence. Britain is broiling and Europe as a whole is facing extreme weather. As a welcome antidote, Signori Dolce & Gabbana debuted a cool breeze of a collection during Milan men’s fashion week.

A model walks the runway at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show during the Milan Menswear Spring/Summer 2026 Fashion Week

The duo staged a pyjama party, with PJs in every variation on the catwalk – a refreshing take on dress-down ease in a city where trussed-up tailoring still tends to dominate, even on the most sultry summer days. The achingly formal men’s fashion fair Pitti Uomo in Florence is a prime example of how to look painfully overcooked.

A model presents a creation by Dolce & Gabbana for the Menswear Ready-to-wear Spring-Summer 2026 collection as part of the Milan Fashion Week

The emphasis at Dolce & Gabbana was on a sense of lightness and the kind of fluid, soft-fit clothing for a sleepy Puglian morning rather than a high-voltage Milanese night, where rigorous tailoring and structure usually apply alla moda Italiano. Pyjamas-as-daywear came in every variety – artfully crumpled, pristine, silken, spangled, bedecked and adorned, pinstriped and piped. There was a freshness and feeling of ease to the clothes, all the more welcome given the context of the sweltering climes. Colours of mint, lemon, raspberry and cherry were as delicious as a cold gelato.

That’s not to say the clothing was entirely informal; Dolce & Gabbana do decorative dress-up and peacockery better than anyone. Pyjamas – and the furry slippers alongside – were worn with soft-fit blazers or pieces decorated with embroidery and spangle, including an entire section of “sartoria” PJs rich with embroidery, erupting with blooms or winding with fauna. No one’s turning in for an early night in these.

Models present creations by Dolce & Gabbana for the Menswear Ready-to-wear Spring-Summer 2026 collection

Granted, there may not be many men with the chutzpah to carry them off with such aplomb, but Dolce & Gabbana’s ultra-high-net-worth male customers will – the anti-soft luxury approach for the fellow who wears his wealth – and his razzmatazz – on his (pyjama) sleeve.

There’s always a backbone of strict, rigorous tailoring at Dolce & Gabbana – the man who doesn’t do decoration can always find an exceptionally cut pinstriped suit – but this time the mood was softer and more unstructured. Suiting featured light linens and the occasional ritzy black-tie ensemble, but the clothes in general had long, languorous lie-ins in mind rather than upright polish and formality.

Italian fashion designers Stefano Gabbana (L) and Domenico Dolce

It’s also testament to Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana that, after 40 years since founding their business, they continue to reassess and refine formulas for dressing men – and make it look appealing and contemporary. Their proposal this time around was as fresh, cooling and inviting as a dip in the Mediterranean.