By now, sumptuous leathers are to be expected at any Bottega Veneta showing. Under the direction of powerhouse Matthieu Blazy, leathers have been twisted, turned, sliced, dyed and then fashioned into illusions over his three-year tenure. But for Bottega Veneta Winter 2024, the show centred less on what leather may become than for what leather is: resilient.
A Blazy commentary on the state of the world and the “very human”, “simple act of dressing”, the showscape was transformed into a scene of the burnt and barren. Yet, delicate glass cacti bloomed, and so did hardy leather garments.
Wielding a natural suppleness but also sharp weapon-like abilities in its make, it was protective gear made elegant. Fluid but serrated juxtapositions, alongside knit-constructed, rigid armour silhouettes, were propositions that recalled the propensity of strength even in the most fragile of fabrics. In exploration of that very duality, was Blazy’s address on mortality. Rebirth iconography, in snakes, infernos and thorny florals, made this clear, each motif signalling the frailty and a cut-throat violence intrinsic to the natural world.
And if corporeality was the seed of discourse, naturally concepts circling legacy would also be present. An assortment of heirlooms materialised as if to suggest an enduring continuity — not just of Bottega Veneta’s legacy nor Blazy’s, but that of traditions of excellent dressing. It was here where most of Blazy’s renown for innovation really broke through. A patchwork fur coat, a traditional pair of dress shoes, or an Intrecciato-weaved bag, all inheritable for the genius in its manufacture, each able to withstand however many cycles of “it’s in”s and “it’s out”s.
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