WATCHING the guests – Christie Brinkley and Pamela Anderson among them – pile in to a Dolce & Gabbana show is almost as much fun as the show itself. With their painted faces and coiffed hair, they wear huge glittered heels and all the clothes of recent seasons past; a smorgasbord of polka dots, mosaic prints, rose prints, and leopard prints (the latter of which, match this afternoon’s carpeted runway). And then there are those in an array of cocktail wear, in mini gold-sequinned and crystal party frocks with tulle petticoats and carrying embellished minaudières just as decorative, so too those who wear the drummer boy jackets festooned in jangling charms (you hear them coming before you actually see them). It’s a riot. But not even that could compare to the triumphant show that Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana staged this afternoon.

With a live rendition of Lady (Hear Me Tonight) by charismatic American singer-songwriter, Austin Mahone (20 years old and with 10 million Instagram followers) the show opened with husband and wife Amanda and Jason Harvey wearing cat printed silk bathrobes and carrying their babies, Rose and Noah. Diversity was celebrated as men and women of every size, age and colour took to the runway. With golden crowns and roses weaved into hair, appearances were made by Andrea Dellal and daughters Alice and Charlotte, shoe designer Tabitha Simmons, Alta Moda consultant Coco Brandolini, and the Financial Times’s Jo Ellison. It didn’t really matter what they wore, show-goers couldn’t help but love it all, from the ‘D&G loves Justin Bieber’ printed T-shirts to the embellished black denim and graffiti’d white jeans; a sharp tuxedo and numerous trouser suits made from a striped patchwork of velvet and brocade; a coat crafted from tier upon tier of brocade swatches, and some dazzling evening wear – the tiger printed crystal mesh being a favourite. If only every show was as joyful as a Dolce & Gabbana show.