Dolce and Gabbana, Fendi and MADONNA??

No stranger to endorsing products, Madonna has recently teamed up with the Italian fashion label, Dolce and Gabbana, as the new face of the luxury label's Spring 2010 collection. The Queen of Pop needs no introduction to explain her iconic status around the world. I first saw the Dolce and Gabanna ad in the January edition of Vogue and I was struck by the image. The four page, black and white ad features Madonna in two positions. Firstly: sitting on a counter, eating spaghetti with her hands:

http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2009/12/17/sneak-peek-madonnas-dolce-gabbana-ad-campaign/

and secondly: washing dishes with an array of dirty pots and pans decorating the background:

http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2009/12/17/sneak-peek-madonnas-dolce-gabbana-ad-campaign/

Madonna is not the only iconic image displayed above. Her actions and the photos' backgrounds bring to mind the iconic image of a housewife. Not only a housewife, but that of a traditional, perhaps rustic, Italian household. This can be determined from the connotations the different props in the scene have. The lace curtains, fresh produce, wooden cabinets, and Madonna's cross necklace all connote the idea of a traditional household. This idea of a rustic home with the woman of the house running things is often romanticized in movies dating back to the 1950's. In fact, the inspiration for this ad campaign was the Italian actress Anna Magnani in the 1951 Luchin Visconti film Bellissima.

Anna Magnani was an icon in her time, and her character in Bellissima is recreated here by an icon of today. However, Madonna's iconic status is dependent on sex appeal and the celebrity lifestyle rather than the image of a housewife. These iconic traits are the connotations which come along with the name "Madonna." The blend of these two connoted images (housewife=traditional/attainable, Madonna=celebrity/idealized), is where the myth of Dolce and Gabanna fashion arises. The ad is saying that one can be high fashion and idolized without walking the red carpet. Dolce and Gabanna can be worn to make everyone, even stay-at-home housewives feel like an icon.