FROM THE INSIDE OUT
A leading luxury label celebrates its 50th anniversary with a tribute to the people who made it possible.
At the recent Milan Fashion Week, Bottega Veneta showed its Spring/ Summer 2017 men’s and women’s collections to its largest audience yet. But unlike some other fashion brands which had adopted the new “see now, buy now” system – whereby designs presented on the runway are immediately made available for sale following a show – consumers were not the main focus at the Bottega Veneta event.
Indeed, some 250 members of the 1,000-strong audience at the show, which was held at the historical Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, were Bottega Veneta’s own artisans. The event, which marked the brand’s 50th anniversary as well as Tomas Maier’s 15th anniversary as its creative director, was a fitting tribute to the craftspeople who have been instrumental to the Bottega Veneta success story.
Timeless and subtly lush, the men’s styles juxtaposed almost-utilitarian silhouettes – think wide-legged, turned-up trousers – with detailed pieces like patchwork leather jackets. From silk suits with a slight sheen to fluid, monochromatic ensembles, the designs reflected the easy, yet distinctively luxurious, sophistication that has come to define Bottega Veneta as it passes the half-century mark.