Logo-less luxury
Fashion house Bottega Veneta, renowned for woven lambskin bags, has made the transition into the interior sector in style
Earlier this year Bottega Veneta opened their first flagship interiors store in Milan, indicating that that the luxury company is weaving its way into the lucrative interiors arena.
With the firm's trusted creative director – designer Tomas Maier – steering the quintessentially Venetian leather goods company off the catwalk and into the home sector, the early indications are positive, with their followers given the chance to not just wear their look but to ‘ live the brand' too…
While a few pieces have been sneaking their way into the collection over recent years, the company made a bold statement with the opening of its first flagship Home store in Milan, during Milan Design Week.
German-born Maier, considered to be one of Germany's top designers and in the same league as Karl Lagerfeld, has converted 205 square metres of the 18th-Century Palazzo Gallarati Scotti into a contemporary show space for the brand's new collection of desks, beds, chairs, lamps, etc.
The magnificent boutique, with original soaring ceilings and frescos by 18th-Century painters Carlo Innocenzo Carlone and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, has been furnished with contemporary new designs that demonstrate the firm's commitment to respecting Italian heritage and craftsmanship.
Established in the mid 1960s in Vicenza, Bottega Veneta quickly earned a reputation for understated luxury, for their instantly recognisable leather goods, luggage pieces and shoes that all feature their trademark woven leather do not have any branding. In an era when overtly-branded luxury goods command a premium, the company has remained true to its origins and philosophy: ‘ When your own initials are enough'. This motto reflects the confidence of the manufacturers, and of consumers who do not need to carry a garish over-branded item to provide who they are. In the case of Bottega, the quality of design and manufacturing speak for themselves.
Since coming on board in the early 2000s Maier, who formerly created ready-to-wear pieces for Hermès, Sonia Rykiel and Revillon, has steered the company's expansion into new products, including jewellery, clothing, candles and perfumes. He created his first piece of furniture for them in 2006 – a camp bed made from the same woven leather used to make the brand's
signature bags. In the same year, the company opened a specialised leather school – La Scuola de la Pelletteria – in Vicenza, north Italy, to support the development of leather artisans.
It is hardly surprising that in the development of its seating collection, Bottega sought the support of Poltrona Frau, one of the world’s finest manufacturers of leather upholstered furniture. Leading Murano glass-blowing masters were called upon to create unique lighting fixtures and glassware. For the porcelain table wear Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur in Berlin was commissioned to manufacture the designs.
“The collection is dedicated to those who are drawn to understated luxurious furnishings,” says Maier, adding: “In the heart of Milan I wanted to create an intimate, discreet destination for clients to immerse themselves in the Italian art de vivre of Bottega Veneta.”
For many years Maier has been designing the interiors of their global boutiques, including those in the UAE. Recently the brand opened a new boutique in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates. The Home boutique is the firm’s third store in Milan’s city centre.
Maier is also the creative genius behind the brand’s exclusive suites in the Park Hyatt Chicago and the St. Regis Rome and Florence hotels – each of which allows guests to be totally immersed in their environment.
In 2012, the brand opened the Bottega Veneta Suite in the restored historic 15th-Century St. Regis Hotel in Florence, which was originally designed by architect Filippo Brunelleschi, who also designed the iconic dome of the stunning Santa Maria del Fiore.
“To create a suite in one of the world’s most historic hotels, and in the centre of Florence, has been an incredible experience,” says Maier. “We were constantly inspired and exhilarated by the art and the history around us. That is an experience I’d like to share with guests who stay in the suite. They should feel immersed in the unique character of Florence and inspired by being at the centre of the Italian Renaissance, while at the same time enjoying the luxury and ease of Bottega Veneta.”
However, now that the furniture collection is now available, there’s no need to check into a hotel to indulge in some of Maier’s unmistakably luxurious environments…
The question now is whether the firm – today owned by Kering, formerly known as the Gucci Group – will follow in the footsteps of Armani, Ferragamo and Versace, and open their own hotel – to offer 100% immersion in their logo-less brand…