In a year that spanned several unexpected – and largely unnecessary – collaborations, Daniel Lee’s departure from Bottega Veneta last November was one of the most unanticipated events to come from the fashion world, with many left wondering how the Italian luxury fashion house would look in his wake. Matthieu Blazy, previously the ready-to-wear designer at Bottega Veneta stepped up to take the place of Lee, his former boss, with the Bottega Veneta FW22 RTW collection marking the first to convey his vision to the public. With an impressive resume that includes stints at Balenciaga, Celine, Maison Margiela, and Calvin Klein, the industry waited with bated breath to see how Blazy would continue on from the eclectic legacy Lee left behind.
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Rather than focusing on reinventing the wheel, Blazy hones in on the essence of historical Bottega Veneta, reconciling this with the ‘New Bottega’ pieces introduced by Lee and putting his own unique spin on them. “Bottega Veneta is, in essence, pragmatic because it is a leather goods company,” explained Matthieu Blazy. “Because it specialises in bags it is about movement, of going somewhere; there is fundamentally an idea of craft in motion. It is style over fashion in its timelessness. That is part of its quiet power.”
Viewing clothing as a dialogue between maker and wearer rather than a spectacle to be beheld by the public, Blazy’s Bottega (the new New Bottega, if you will) taps into “the more private pleasure of ‘quiet power’,” according to the press notes. Some of Blazy’s most impressive creations for Bottega Veneta are the most innocuous-looking. Embodying the notion of stealth wealth, the opening look appears at first glance to be a simple pair of dark low-rise blue jeans teamed with a white tank top. However, bestow it with a second look and you’ll see that both the jeans and tank are crafted from leather, a key element of Bottega Veneta’s heritage.
Existing at the intersection of luxury and utility, many of the looks take on the same leather craftsmanship. All of the photo-real denim is actually printed supple nubuck leather, as are oversized business shirts. The brand’s signature intrecciato weave from the Lee era continues into Blazy’s collection, seen in the Kalimero bag as well as thigh-high boots. However, an increased emphasis on technical detail is present, with each intrecciato weave piece realised from a single piece of leather and devoid of stitching. Striped down suiting takes on an unexpected silhouette that draws from Umberto Boccioni’s 1913 sculpture, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (though the inspiration could very well be the Hunchback of Notre Dame); while knitwear is cute and colourful, reminiscent of childhood pieces.
If the pièce de résistance of Bottega Veneta FW22 is Blazy’s execution of leather and the more structural elements, its Achilles’ heel is the dresses and finery. While the shimmery take on Bottega Green and feathery and Leavers lace slip dresses may be self-referential to Blazy’s time at Celine and Calvin Klein, the sheen of the garments coupled with the metallic thigh-high boot styling comes off a touch more Zara than Bottega. Nonetheless, admirers of both heritage Bottega Veneta and the New Bottega will undoubtedly find something to love in Blazy’s Bottega, whether it’s the radical suiting, understated drop-waisted dresses, or leather staples.
Words by Theo Rosen
