STYLE Edit: Bottega Veneta’s Doll bag – creative director Daniel Lee’s expertly crafted new cut-out tote is sophisticated in its simplicity

May 17 , 2021

Bottega Veneta’s Doll bag is a neat little creation from creative director Daniel Lee that fans of the Triangle bag will love. Photo: Bottega Veneta

The Doll is part of Bottega Veneta’s Salon 01 collection and, like the brand’s already popular Triangle bag, is set to have just as large a cult following

Its sculpted silhouette is created from eight pieces of leather, then fashioned with pleats and folds into the Doll, with no visible rivets or metal studs

“I am doll eyes, doll mouth, doll legs …” If Courtney Love needed one final accessory to finish her look for alt-rock anthem Doll Parts, Bottega Veneta’s new Doll bag would’ve been just the thing.

Doll is a new shape by creative director Daniel Lee, offering the luxurious and structured simplicity of Bottega Veneta in a voluminous cut-out tote. The new bag was unveiled as part of the Salon 01 collection, along with the Point bag (a continuation of the Triangle bag from previous seasons).

Bottega Veneta’s Doll bag in black crocodile print. Photo: Bottega Veneta

The Doll’s formidable structure almost reminds us of the handbags we’d gleefully snap into our Barbie’s plastic grip in childhood, but with the hyperbolic flair – and real-world practicality – that exemplifies why Bottega Veneta handbags have been killing it the past few seasons.

Comfort, tactility and practicality define the latest Salon 01 collection. Photo: Bottega Veneta

For the spring/summer 2021 collection, Lee was inspired by, among others, the conceptual artist Rosemarie Trockel, whose knitted paintings, sculptures and performances offer a commentary on contemporary society. The Salon 01 collection riffs off this idea, questioning the emotional linkages between people and fashion.

Especially during a pandemic, when domestic comforts have become so significant to us, thinking how to translate comfort and tactility to the outside world is a worthy cause – and Doll seems to do just that.

A more Doll-like Doll bag in blue. Photo: Bottega Veneta

Available in two sizes, the craftsmanship for the Doll begins by expertly joining eight pieces of leather, with the handles and flaps of the bag created using the same cut. The artisan achieved the Doll’s shape through a series of pleats and folds, using either crocodile print light calf or patent leather. The bottom of the bag is fixed by leather-covered rivets, essential to the Doll’s form but artfully hidden for a neat, smooth finish.

Indeed, no metal pieces are visible at all in the design, typical of the neat and simple tone of the brand under Lee. Impressive given that metal hardware is often the element luxury brands turn to most when defining a motif for their accessories: The chaine d’ancre, the horsebit, the padlock – you get the picture.