In a fashion industry that feels increasingly dominated by commercial aim and editor-pleasing pieces, Bottega Veneta is one of the few, brilliant exceptions.
Daniel Lee has surpassed being the fashion industry’s darling-of-the-moment, and has quietly yet confidently become a powerhouse the industry expects to be visually reckoned with, with the electric build-up to his shows being something we have not seen since Lee Alexander McQueen’s Plato’s Atlantis, some ten, long years ago.
There are however no spray painting robot arms – no catwalks adorned by rings of fire and glass enclosures. The industrially staged runway was as quietly confident as the designs, but the atmospheric crescendo was of deafening impact.
It was the colourways that made the first yet lasting impression; inky black bases were punctuated by slicks of waxy chocolate and punchy shades of kiwi.
There was no questioning the collection’s Autumnal mood, positioned by the layered silhouettes and weighted, rich fabric choices, yet the looks in both colour and aesthetic carried an elusive lightness – the forever-fashion, investment-piece-in-the-making ‘je ne sais quoi’ that is so seldom captured during the heavier Fall shows.
Lee’s third runway outing for the leather-led brand came with, naturally, a new set of ‘It’ accessories that will already be etched on the wish-lists of editors and street-stylers alike. Squared-off winkle pickers were fused with Cuban-wedged western-boots – the bizarre sounding concoction will no doubt be the footwear of the season. The leather woven bags came with a predictable yet entirely justified raucous fanfare.
The expert craftsmanship left the bags need for a lining nullified – with the same intricate, trademark weave of leather visible from both the exterior and interior.
Daniel Lee and #NewBottega are fashion powerhouses now so intrinsically linked it is now hard to remember the time BD (before Daniel), yet that doesn’t mean we’re not already counting down the summer days until we can see next seasons offering, and wear this seasons triumph. It’s Daniel Lee’s world, we’re just trying to live in it.
