‘The White Lotus’ meets La Dolce Vita: inside Mytheresa and Dolce & Gabbana’s Taormina takeover

The Sicilian town of Taormina, located on the island’s eastern coastline, has occupied its teetering hilltop position for two and a half millennia. Flanked on one side by the towering Mount Etna – a sight so arresting it appears like an enormous green-screen illusion – and the glimmering Ionian sea on the other, the picturesque clusters of hotels, restaurants and terraces seem to clamour along the cliffside to lay claim to Taormina’s best viewpoint.

The past weekend (31 May – 1 June), guests of German e-retailer Mytheresa and Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana – who were celebrating their ninth collaborative collection – gathered on the terrace of Taormina’s San Domenico Palace, part of the Four Seasons hotel group, to consider the sweeping view at dusk over aperitivo. It was a strangely familiar sight: in 2022, the San Domenico Palace entered the cultural consciousness as the site of the fictional ‘The White Lotus’ hotel for the second series of Mike White’s darkly comedic satire of such luxury establishments and their ultra-rich patrons.

Mytheresa and Dolce & Gabbana take over Taormina, Sicily

As Mytheresa CEO Michael Kliger reminded in his opening speech, Tanya McQuoid – the wealthy, permanently perplexed American multi-millionaire played by Jennifer Coolidge in the show’s first two seasons – remarked on the hotel’s unique position: ‘Oh, God. This is such a beautiful view. I wonder if anyone’s ever jumped from here.’ Thankfully, as guests dined on tables strewn with ripe oranges, cacti and wild flowers, the only drama was the rising gusts of sea winds (a momentary interruption to the otherwise serene scene, which unfolded on the lawns of the hotel’s scented Belvedere Gardens).

But Coolidge’s dryly delivered line speaks to the heady appeal of Taormina – and, indeed, Sicily in general – where an amalgam of cultural influences, near-perpetual heat, and its proximity to a bubbling volcano offer a particular appeal, which teeters between seduction and delirium (indeed, the day after guests left the island, Mount Etna emitted a dramatic plume of ash and smoke).

It is a locale which has provided infinite inspiration for Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s particular brand of La Dolce Vita at their eponymous Milan-based fashion house – the former having been born in Polizzi Generosa, Sicily, the latter a regular visitor (the pair have held Alta Moda shows – the couture arm of Dolce & Gabbana – in locations across the island, from Palermo to Taormina). ‘We built our fashion around three fundamental concepts: Sicily, tailoring, and tradition,’ Domenico Dolce said in 2010.

For this latest collaboration with Mytheresa, the pair looked towards Toarmina for inspiration with a colourful, print-and-pattern-adorned collection for women and children which draws on hallmarks of the town – whether the patterned Sicilian ‘majolica’ tiles which decorate walls and stairways, motifs of ripe fruits and flowers, or swirling Baroque prints recalling the interiors of Taormina’s many churches. Silhouettes move from the breezy – kaftans, silk shirt dresses, maxi skirts and the like – to the Dolce & Gabbana hourglass, while accessories drip with references to Sicilian culture, from colourful pom poms to woven raffia.

The denouement of the two-day trip – for which the San Domenico Palace provided a luxurious base – was a takeover of Taormina’s Piazza IX Aprile, a cinematic town square recognisable for its checkerboard paving, cluster of churches and dramatic sea view (as such, through the day and evening, tourists can be seen peering over its edges).

Recalling a traditional Italian market – tables were laden with local arancini, fruits, colourful Dolce & Gabbana Casa homeware, and Sicilian Moor’s Head ceramics – the buzzy happening concluded with a rousing parade of local musicians, Dolce & Gabbana-clad models and maypole dancing (there was even a Mytheresa and Dolce & Gabbana-branded Fiat adorned with Sicilian motifs). Among the guests were model Alton Mason, actress Alice Pagani and Beatrice Grannò – who played Mia in the second season of ‘The White Lotus’ – each gamely leaping up and joining the sun-soaked festivities.

Afterwards, heady from a day of sunshine, food and spritzes, everyone decamped back to the hotel’s infinity pool, which for this summer has been transformed by Dolce & Gabbana with colourful parasols, cushions and towels as part of their Resort takeover across Europe (other locations include Le Carillon, Portofino, Casa Amor, Saint Tropez and La Cabane, Marbella). Snoozing in the sunshine, talk turned to plans when back at home. Top of everyone’s list? A White Lotus season two re-watch.

The Dolce & Gabbana x Mytheresa ‘Taormina’ collection is available at mytheresa.com.