Dolce & Gabbana’s Summer Accessories Are the Fun Part

The white cotton pieces give this Dolce & Gabbana selection a cleaner starting point, before raffia, gold hardware and Carretto print bring back the house’s familiar love of decoration.

The first thing we noticed here was the white cotton. It is an unexpected place to start with Dolce & Gabbana, a label that can happily give you embroidery, gold metal and a print with ten things happening at once. The long poplin dress is the piece we noticed first. It falls almost to the floor, with a round neck, bare arms and cut-out details that stop it feeling plain.

The Bardot crop top and high-waisted circle skirt make a very good pair, though they are sold separately. The top is short, with stretch at the trims, and the skirt has enough volume to give the look its shape. Neither needs much added to it. The white swimsuit belongs with them too, thanks to its plunging V-neck, draped sides and straight back. A small gold DG plaque is enough decoration.

All the pieces supplied are made in Italy, and things get more decorative from here. Four accessories use raffia, often with gold-tone DG branding or hardware, but they do not all land in the same place.

The white dress would be our pick from the clothes. At £6,700 it is clearly a serious purchase, so it needs to offer more than a simple summer dress, and the length and cut-out work give it that sense of occasion. The cotton poplin keeps the dress from feeling too formal despite its scale. It is a big dress, but it does not need a loud print to justify itself.

If that feels like too much dress, we also like the little Bardot top. It shows the shoulders, has short sleeves and sits high on the body. The matching circle skirt is lined and cut to sit at the waist, which makes the two together feel deliberately shaped without looking stiff. They work well together, but the skirt can just as easily stand on its own when a full white look feels a bit much.

The one-piece swimsuit is another good example of Dolce & Gabbana knowing when to hold back. The halter tie keeps the front simple, while the side draping gives the swimsuit more shape. It is not shy, but it is much less busy than the printed swimwear later on.

The accessories are where it loosens up

The green 3.5 shoulder bag is the one we kept coming back to. Raffia crochet, smooth calfskin, fringe and a crossed DG logo could easily become overdone, but the small size keeps everything under control. The detachable leather handle and chain strap give it two clear ways to carry it, and the rich green is more interesting than a predictable natural raffia shade. It is our favourite accessory in the selection.

The multicoloured raffia coffa Capri bag takes the decoration much further. It has embroidered raffia, leather handles and pom-poms. It is a bag for someone who actually wants the decoration, not someone hoping it will disappear into an outfit. We prefer its generous shape to a tiny novelty basket because it has a practical interior with both zip and flat pockets.

The raffia slippers are easier to wear than either bag. Their open-toe Bianca shape, cowhide details and fringe give them plenty of detail, while the flat sole keeps them relatively easy to wear. The embroidered mules are more theatrical with an 85mm heel and printed leather insole. If you like heels with real colour and texture, these are for you.

The sunglasses

The cream DG Precious sunglasses sit naturally beside the white clothing in the edit. Cream acetate frames and temples sit with brown mirror lenses, which give them a warmer look than stark black sunglasses.

The Dolce & Gabbana x Ray-Ban pair has a finer Arista metal frame, adjustable nosepads and dark brown mirror rose-gold lenses. It is a more familiar aviator-like shape, and that is no bad thing. The dedicated collaboration packaging may matter to a collector, but the draw is the frame itself. The finer metal frame makes it feel much less decorative than the raffia pieces elsewhere in the edit.

Then comes Carretto

Carretto is where Dolce & Gabbana stops pretending it is in the mood for restraint. The triangle bikini has gathered, unwired cups, a hook fastening at the back and a fixed thong bottom with lace end caps. The print will not land in exactly the same place on every piece, which is part of the brand’s Handmade approach. It makes sense here because the pattern is the entire point.

The one-shoulder chiffon dress gives that same print much more room. A scarf covers the right shoulder and the full skirt is lightly gathered, so the fabric can move without the dress becoming bulky. This is our favourite Carretto piece of the two. The bikini is fun, but the dress has a clearer shape and lets the print unfold across a bigger surface. It is bright, unapologetic and recognisably Dolce & Gabbana.

Our View

There is no need to pretend every piece here is for the same person. The white poplin dress and two-piece set are for someone drawn to a strong cut and a clear line. The raffia bags and shoes are for someone who wants colour, texture and a visible logo. Carretto is for the shopper who came to Dolce & Gabbana hoping for exactly that kind of joyful excess.

What makes this selection interesting is the contrast between them. The white pieces make the decorative work feel more deliberate, not less. Then the accessories show how much mileage the brand can get from raffia, shifting it from a small shoulder bag to a roomy coffa tote, flat slippers and heeled mules. The gold details recur, but raffia looks quite different across the small shoulder bag, coffa tote, slippers and mules.

The collection is at its best when it commits to one idea properly. The long white dress works because of the cut, the green 3.5 bag because of its colour and shape, and the Carretto chiffon dress because it fully embraces the print. Those are the pieces we would remember.

Would We Buy It?

Yes. The green raffia 3.5 shoulder bag is our first choice because its compact shape makes all the crochet, fringe and hardware feel focused. We would take the one-shoulder Carretto chiffon dress next, then the white cotton poplin dress if the occasion and budget allow. The cream sunglasses are the easiest entry point.