Dolce & Gabbana takes to the streets in new photojournalistic campaign

Dolce & Gabbana is bringing its fashion to the streets.

The Italian fashion house has released the images for its Autumn/Winter 2016 campaign, with the everyday citizens of Naples taking on a starring role.

The brand called in photojournalist Franco Pagetti to shoot the campaign in the historical center of the bustling Italian city, with the starring model Bianca Balti mixing with the town's residents as well as passers-by for a series of fascinating portraits.

The cobbled streets of the Spaccanapoli neighbourhood and the city's famous Via dei Tribunali, San Gregorio Armeno, piazza San Domenico Maggiore and via San Paolo provide the setting for the images, which see designer-clad models dancing around busking musicians and laughing with an elderly woman at the market. One picture sees the female models walk bashfully though a cheering crowd, but all feature locals going about their daily business, exiting restaurants, selling chocolate and admiring pretty girls.

The brief was certainly a change for Pagetti, whose previous photojournalism work has seen him cover conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Libya. A statement from designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana stated: "He's one of the best in the business thanks to his bravery, his ingenuity and his skill. He is a tough operator. He will find the right shot for sure."

The campaign is the latest in a long list of love letters to Italy from Dolce & Gabbana, with the most recent example seeing the pair recruit silver screen legend Sophia Loren to play the mother of five sons who set about restoring their ancient Sicilian family property in a mini trilogy to launch the fragrance "Dolce Rosa Excelsa."