Dolce & Gabbana insist their innocence as Milan men's shows begin From London Luke Leitch reviews Stefano Pilati's debut at Ermenegildo Zegna, newcomer Andrea Pompilio's collection and speaks to a shocked but defiant Dolce and Gabbana. The Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana insisted their innocence - three days after they were sentenced to 20 months in prison for tax offences - as they presented their latest collection today. Speaking to The Telegraph by telephone from Milan, Stefano Gabbana said: "We feel shocked about what's happened. But we are relaxed too because we know that we are innocent. We resist, and I feel strong. But today isn't the time to talk about that: we have a show. READ: Dolce & Gabbana remain defiant despite jail sentences That show, to present next summer's mens collection, featured escapist, heroic imagery taken from Greek mythology. Prints of the gods Zeus and Apollo and ancient temples in Domenico Dolce's native Sicily peppered many of the clothes worn by the real Sicilian men - not models - who strode down the catwalk in raffia shoes to an Ennio Morricone soundtrack. There was the subtlest of financial references in a prints featuring ancient coins from Catania, Syracuse, Taormina and Messina. Watched by an audience that included Barcelona's Lionel Messi the show even included (unplanned) nudity: a streaker, apparently German, gatecrashed the catwalk at the finale - but he was bundled off it before his motives could be revealed along with the rest of him. Photographs (not of the streaker) suggested a typically adroit collection that was rooted in precise tailoring but which flowered with whimsical Italianate touches. However while their tax case continues - the designers' sentences have been suspended as they move to appeal the verdict of last week's second hearing into the charge - its shadow over Dolce & Gabbana's carefully constructed world will never entirely recede. And this could take a while; because the Italian court is entitled to a 140 day summer break, that appeal is be unlikely even to be registered until nearly Christmas. Dolce & Gabbana finale Earlier, the designer Stefano Pilati presented his much anticipated debut for the Italian suiting titan, Ermenegildo Zegna. Like Dolce and Gabbana, Pilati is as much of a star in fashion as Messi is in football. Recently brought in on a free transfer by Zegna after losing his place in team Yves Saint Laurent to Hedi Slimane, this debut performance was assured, and in its way rather radical. To a backing track of industrial machinery and piano tinkling, Pilate proposed an unusual, very fine notch lapelled revere on loose double-breasted jackets of wool and silk. This unconventional notch, although only a detail, made the collection feel much more compelling than Zegna's typical lustrously executed classics. Fine gauge knitwear rolled back across the sleeves of outerwear was a quirkier detail that seemed less effective, and more affectation. Stefano Pilati's debut at Ermenegildo Zegna. Fashion-watchers are particularly agog to see what Pilati will do at Agnona, Zegna's knitwear-rooted womenswear brand, but this mens debut was an understated yet confident start. Milan Mens Fashion Week's final highlight was the debut of Andrea Pompilio. This young designer was afforded the never-before-bestowed privilege of showing his collection at Giorgio Armani's personal fashion theatre. Burgundy suits, ornately decorative bomber jackets and the surprise inclusion of some occasionally racy womenswear looks were highlights of this, the latest effort from Milan's fashion establishment to counter the increasingly disturbing (for them) perception that Italian fashion is dominated by an ageing elite that allows little room for any new talent to rise.