JOANNE WATKINSON
SOCIAL DISTANCING AT BOTTEGA VENETA?
WHILE other fashion brands are clambering over one another to get followers on Instagram and recruiting young shoppers via new platforms such as TikTok, Bottega Veneta, the 55-year-old Italian brand, has done the unthinkable in the current social mediadriven market place.
It has deleted its Instagram account, which had an impressive 2.5 million followers.
Bottega Veneta, a brand which has enjoyed an incredible resurgence in the past few seasons, didn’t give any explanation. Its ‘silenzio’ said it all. It wasn’t a terrible mistake or a technical error. It was a statement.
As to what, I’m sure we will learn in time. Perhaps it will come back bigger and better.
Having watched this legacy brand from afar for so many years, I have my own take on its decision to ditch the social media platform.
Prior to 2018, the Milan-based fashion house was very much a 1% brand, so subtle and yet so expensive that only the super-rich would buy it. Its signature ‘intrecciato’ woven leather-work was iconic, but the branding was non-existent, so it didn’t appeal to those who needed recognition about their wealth.
Then in swept creative director Daniel Lee, fresh from a stint at
Celine, and almost overnight Bottega Veneta accessories were the hottest thing around. The Pouch, the Cassette Bag, those padded sandals, all of which spawned a thousand copy-cats. While certainly not in the same league quality-wise, the lack of obvious branding on the originals made faking the aesthetic easier to achieve.
Before long Instagram was littered with influencers clutching fakes, look-a-likes and phoneys. Par for the course these days. But perhaps when the brand, which only joined Instagram in 2017, started to see versions of its luxury collection popping up on fast fashion websites, its protective instincts kicked in.
Brand saturation can be the death knell for designers. This happens when customers no longer feel the product is exclusive or special, either because it’s available in too many stores, or it becomes so popular it loses its elusive appeal.
Burberry is a good example of this, and it took years of careful positioning to get the brand back to where they wanted it.
With just under 12 months of the 2021 fashion calendar left, I’m sure all will be revealed as to Bottega Veneta’s bold move. Hush hush, Bottega style.