The designers visited Kowloon day and night markets, delighting crowds and shooting pictures featuring models, laughing shopkeepers and market-goers old and young. In a flurry of quirky T-shirts, leopard print and floral designs, tuxedos and party gowns, the Dolce & Gabbana crew toured stalls selling street food and fashion fakes – including the label’s perfumes. They let people take selfies, creating a buzz that left older onlookers bemused.

“The people on the streets in Hong Kong were amazing,” Stefano Gabbana says to me later that day at The Peninsula hotel. “You have the style in the blood, here and in China, because it is the most antique culture in the world.”

Shot by creative team the Morelli Brothers and with the hashtag #DGlovesHongKong, the videos and still images offered a charming take on Hong Kong’s neon lights, vibrant night markets, red taxis and street food hawkers as a cast of Chinese models made their way playfully through the crowds. Dolce & Gabbana once again pulled off a puckish, fun-filled ad campaign.

The designers say they’ve been enamoured with the city since first visiting decades ago. One of their first East Asian clients was the city’s original fashion guru, Joyce Ma. While in the city, they talked about the energy of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing and the playful Chinese attitude to fashion.

“We are more closed in, the Europeans, now and the Chinese are more open,” Gabbana says. Domenico Dolce says: “There is an innate Chinese sense of colour and style from history. There’s a similar thing with Russian culture, too, which is very rich and interesting, with a long history.”