Dolce & Gabbana Invite ‘Supercool’ Millennial Influencers to Strut Runway

Dolce & Gabbana are in no way new to the celebrity game. In fact, the brand was the first major label to place bloggers in its front row. And it wasn’t a one-off deal; back in September, it lined up a front row of 21 influencers to watch the show. Its partnership with Cameron Dallas almost threw the city of Milan into a state of emergency during one of his appearances, and just this month it released an ad campaign of influencers. Now, Dolce & Gabbana put those same guys on the runway.

At Milan Fashion Week this weekend, it was big news when Cameron Dallas opened the Dolce show. With his own Netflix docuseries, called Chasing Cameron, the blond is a phenom. But who followed him down the runway weren’t just run-of-the-mill models, they were also millennial influencers in their own rights.

Using hashtags like #real people the brand posted the influencers onto its Instagram account, including the likes of YouTuber Jim Chapman, blogger Pelayo Diaz, creative Luka Sabbat, YouTuber Juanpa Zurita, Vine star Neels Visser, and vlogger Marcus Butler.

Sprinkled into the mix were a few celeb spawns like Presley Gerber, son of supermodel Cindy Crawford, as well as other stars of note like musician Tinie Tempah. It was truly an international affair, with Zurita hailing from Mexico, Butler and Tempah from the U.K., and Sabbat from the states.

The star power carried over into the selection of full-time models. Lucky B. Smith may be “just a model” but he also commands a following of over 2 million followers on Instagram and has a book coming out. On the women’s side, even Sofia Richie was pulled into the fray. These aren’t just your everyday clotheshorses.

The point of it all is clear; each of those cast in the show dutifully posted about the showing to their followings. That sort of full-court press makes for an all-out assault on social media, meaning millennials the world over will likely share a glimpse of the collection.

The collection itself was eclectic, as Dolce collections are prone to be. There was a strong show of suiting but, in addition, the brand combined a royal theme with a military one, the former used as the collection’s title “DG Princes.” Opting for a prince instead of a king (another nod to the youth of millennials) meant sneakers that had been scribbled on instead of lace up oxfords and varsity jackets thrown into the fray.

We have no doubt that come award season, if these names are out and about, they’ll be fitted in the latest D&G. But even if they don’t, how many people can say they walked in a Dolce & Gabbana show?