Sex, money, glamour rule

DOLCE & Gabbana proved their love for showgirl exuberance today with a collection of aggressive black corset dresses, buttocks-hugging skirts and sequinned gowns in the colours of the rainbow on show at Milan' fashion week.

A metallic moulded corset dress with exaggerated hips - think Marie Antoinette in the space age-- and platform heels that caused several models to wobble dangerously were certainly not meant to be practical.

But there was at least one person in the room who was ready to wear Dolce & Gabbana's crystal-encrusted, embroidered, swirly gowns with billowing sleeves: pop star Kylie Minogue.

"If there ever was an opportunity to wear these clothes it's on stage.

"Well, I need to control myself not to wear those kinds of things at a dinner party. But perhaps I shouldn't show restraint and just wear it anyway, floating around in a pantsuit ... the one from the show," Minogue said in a backstage interview.

Dolce & Gabbana's show screamed sex and money and entertained an audience that had felt mildly bored after a series of wearable, retro-inspired collections during the fashion week.

Tighter-than-tight mini-dresses, girded by wide patent leather belts, ended where the leg began and black pumps had a golden underside that flickered as models walked down the catwalk.

Bondage tops, plenty of patent leather and corsets paid homage to a fetish theme that had also dominated the show for Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana's D&G label on Monday.

Yet the sexual tension was relieved by some tongue-in-cheek outfits that played on Dolce & Gabbana's soft spot for campness.

Dresses made of what looked like green, pink and orange gift-wrapping foil and disco princess gowns that were worn by models attempting to wave their arms in a dancerly fashion brought razzle-dazzle fun to fashion week.