FASHION WEEK

The Bags of New
New Bottega

By The Rebag Team, Feb. 28, 2022

Matthieu Blazy returned Bottega Veneta to its roots.

For his Bottega Veneta F/W 2022 debut, new creative director Matthieu Blazy returned to the Italian heritage label’s foundation in craftsmanship. He emphasized Bottega Veneta’s signature Intrecciato weave by modernizing it in fresh, innovative ways by reintroducing it in new forms.

“Bottega Veneta is in essence pragmatic because it is a leather goods company. Because it specializes 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.”

—Matthieu Blazy

Last November, Bottega Veneta shocked the fashion world when it abruptly announced that creative director Daniel Lee was leaving Bottega Veneta after a short yet successful three-year stint that reinvigorated the Italian fashion house. His most memorable hits include handbags like the Pouch and Cassette. Soon after, Bottega announced Belgian fashion designer and former design director Matthieu Blazy — who also had stints at Calvin Klein under Raf Simons, Celine under Phoebe Philo, and Maison Margiela — as Lee’s successor.

Blazy debuted his first Bottega Veneta collection on February 26, recalling the label’s roots by returning the show to its hometown, Milan, and showcasing its signature Intrecciato weave. Fully aware that the house’s best sellers were in footwear and handbags, Blazy sent out a parade of both, including bags and thigh-high boots without any stitching, made solely with the house’s weaved Intrecciato leather.

Focusing on the craftsmanship that is synonymous with Bottega Veneta, Blazy wanted to emphasize his desire to produce a Fall/Winter 2022 collection that was not easily disposable, but rather made of things that one would keep in their wardrobe for years to come. The designer disguised nubuck as denim through a photo-realistic print, paired with a new Kalimero bag held with a single strap over the shoulder. Blazy designed the collection around fine tailoring, creating an oversized shirt for women, meant to evoke borrowing a shirt from her lover. Blazy took inspiration in Italian futurist art, emulating the frenetic energy of the silhouette of Umberto Boccioni’s 1913 sculpture, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space through voluminous shapes.

The handbags came in several forms, from oversized Intrecciato boxes to soft and squishy leather clutches to basket-like bucket bags. The footwear ranged from Intrecciato oxfords to bright orange furry platforms to more dainty wedges. If anything, Blazy ushered in a new era of Bottega Veneta by going back to its foundation and exuding the “quiet power” to which he referred. His first showing for Bottega Veneta was an indication of a promising future ahead.