The Story Of The Brand: Bottega Veneta
The founders of the fashion house, which in the future will conquer fashionistas from all over the world, were Michele Taddei and Renzo Zengiaro. In 1966, the entrepreneurs founded their workshop to produce leather goods in Vicenza, Venice.
A distinctive feature of the brand and its calling card, which makes any product recognizable, is the “intrecciato” weaving. The artisans who worked in the company invented this unique method of weaving genuine leather at the very beginning of its existence.
Bottega Veneta focused on quality and design without focusing on the company logo and adopted the slogan "Your initials will be enough" to support this concept. By 1980, the brand had become an established darling of the international community. Later, the actress Lauren Hutton carried a Bottega Veneta Intrecciato bag in the movie American Gigolo. In 1985, Andy Warhol made the short film Bottega Veneta Industrial Videotape.
Over time, the success of the Bottega Veneta brand began to decline. So, in 1990, it was decided to expand the range of products. But the most crucial chapter in the brand's modern history began only in 2001 when Bottega Veneta was acquired by the Gucci Group holding (later Kering). As a result, designer Thomas Maier was invited to the post of creative director.
German by birth, this designer has worked for fashion houses such as Sonia Rykiel and Hermès. Still, Maier played the most crucial role in the development of Bottega Veneta: he returned the brand to its roots and brought public attention to its heritage.
Under Maier's leadership, Bottega Veneta tripled its revenues and became Kering's second-largest source of income behind Saint Laurent. After 17 years of Maier's successful tenure as creative director, on June 13, 2018, Kering announced his resignation.
In the same month, Daniel Lee was appointed as the new creative director of Bottega Veneta. The appointment gave new impetus to the Italian luxury fashion house. The young designer has relaunched the men's ready-to-wear collection and launched collections for the home.
Daniel Lee harboured a team of artisans. He kept Bottega Veneta's focus on well-crafted, logoless and simplicity-driven products. To give a new look to Bottega Veneta, Lee raised the Intrecciato designs to capitalize on the brand's most iconic features and infused more hedonism/desirability in the brand's products.
The designer designed the Pouch clutch bag, which became the best-selling bag in the brand's history. His transformation of Bottega Veneta was named New Bottega. As a result, Vogue called him "The Quiet Radical", and Harper's Bazaar called him "the new fashion prodigy".
On November 10, 2021, Bottega Veneta and Lee announced that he would leave his creative director position. Immediately after this decision, Kering appointed Mathieu Blazy, former design director of Bottega Veneta, as the company's new creative director, who is expected to retain Lee's New Bottega style. Under Blasi, the Bottega Veneta shows returned to Milan. In addition, the company announced plans to move its headquarters to Milan's San Fedele Palace before the end of 2023.
