Swathed in acres of black chiffon and draped in a long lace veil, Madonna took a front row seat at Dolce & Gabbana‘s SS25 Fashion Week show in Milan. The designers had dedicated their catwalk presentation, entitled Italian Beauty, to Madonna’s inimitable touring costumes – the singer has been a friend to the brand since the 1990s.

On her head, the Material Girl singer wore a gold and crystal tiara, cementing her status as a platinum-selling artist and undisputed star of the show. But almost hidden beneath her veil was an incredible high jewellery necklace with a special meaning for the Italian design duo.

The floral-inspired piece is from Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Gioielleria collection, crafted from white gold and set with 461 sparkling white diamonds, including five astonishing pear-shaped stones weighing almost 80 carats in total.

Looking closer, one can also see three tiny skulls, carved from Bianco d’Istria stone – a slightly menacing motif, perhaps, but one that has been included as a tribute to themes that have always fascinated Dolce & Gabbana: the conflict between love and destruction, and the triumph of life and beauty over death.

The stone itself is an ancient material, prized since the Roman era for its pale beauty as well as its strength and resistance to moisture. It is one of the most noticeable characteristics of the carved façades in Venice, able to withstand the continuous exposure to salt water. The quarry that provides the city with its blocks of Bianco D’Istria is the same one that yielded the stones for Dolce & Gabbana’s necklace.

Like all of the designers’ high jewellery collections, this detailed piece also pays tribute to the art of ‘fatto a Mano’ (made by hand), preserving ancient skills of hand carving, setting and sculpting that are fast going extinct elsewhere – a small triumph, perhaps, over the incessantly fast-paced and increasingly AI-obsessed times we currently find ourselves in, and an important message for the Queen of Pop herself to promote.