As always, the appointment of a new creative director is met with either apprehensiveness or excitement. When Daniel Lee left the Bottega Veneta last year, fashion commentators and fans were left wondering, what’s next? The Kering-owned company appointed Matthieu Blazy, and the designer is now settling into his role. The creative director brings his subdued artisanal vision and the brand’s Winter 2022 campaign. While things are shaking up at Bottega, one thing remains – the brand is not making use of social media.
For his Winter 2022 campaign, Blazy got together a crew of cinematographers, and photographers to shoot the collection. Interestingly, some of these photographers had never been involved in fashion shoots before this hook-up. The crew of photographers travelled to Belgium’s Horst Festival where they shot a cast of “cross-generational” models.
“Bottega Veneta was created by a collective of artisans,” said Blazy. “This is the history, and this is how we approached the campaign: together, with many different ways of seeing.”
The Winter 22 collection
As for the collection, well, it’s one hell of a debut, featuring arresting knitwear, feather-trimmed dresses, trompe l’oeil leather layers on shirts, tank tops, and pants. Blazy also threw in thick-soled shoes to build style from the ground up.
For accessories Blazy threw in a couple of Kalimero bags, which signifies the brand’s departure from its previous designer. The bag features a four-sided structure and a sliding strap, which can be slung over the shoulder or worn as a traditional shoulder bag. The un-looping feature on the strap transforms the bag into a dangling pouch.
“Bottega Veneta is in essence pragmatic because it is a leather goods company. … It is style over fashion in its timelessness. That is part of its quiet power,” Blazy added.
Bottega is still a social-media-free company
In the digital age, where social media rules the roost, how does a new designer showcase his latest creations when the brand he is at does not subscribe to social media? Die-hard fans of the brand will know that they will be given access through the Bottega Veneta app, which will give customers intimate access to the artist’s designs. The app will provide “41 still and moving” swipeable images. The brand will also publish Blazy’s Winter 2022 collection as a book, that will be available free of charge at Bottega stores worldwide.
Matthieu Blazy’s first campaign for Bottega is proof that the brand has already departed from its previous creative director. It’s Blazy’s time now.
