At Bottega Veneta, Modern Grunge Meets Ladies Who Lunch
When Bottega Veneta creative director Matthieu Blazy debuted his first collection for the Italian label last year, the surreal jeans—surprisingly, made out of leather—were an impressive show of his talent for capturing the ease of everyday with a subversive twist.
For spring 2023, the most evocative pieces had a similar sentiment: how can everyday, distinctively low-key garments be turned on their head into new objects of luxury? For starters, a directionally glammed-down Kate Moss grabbed everyone’s attention in an oversize blue checked shirt; white tank top; and baggy, low-slung jeans. The trompe-l’œil look was rendered all in leather. Free of accessories save for a simple pair of hoop earrings, it was very much evocative of light ’90s grunge.
The understated minimalism that punctuated the beginning of the collection continued with wide khakis, baggy polos and white tees, knee-length jean shorts (all leather too), and soft-looking white henley dresses ripped straight from early 2000s mall culture, with an undeniably expensive twist. The styling—a chunky sweater tied over the shoulder, bags layered on top of one another, a furry coat piled on top of denim shorts, and one bag in particular that resembled a brown shopping bag—felt intrinsically connected to the culture of celebrity sightings and off-duty style; a hint at voyeurism through a curated eye. This also anchored the collection, so it carefully toed the line between runway and real life.
Blazy’s debut last season was strong, and he also showed that he has a knack for finding new ways of exploring texture. He did just that, again, for the second half of the spring 2023 collection. A trio of bright feather-like fringe dresses swayed and shook as they closed in the show in hues of banana yellow, tiger lily orange and robin’s egg blue. Each of them recalled similar dresses from fall 2022, which were later priced at an astounding $30,000 each.
Against a backdrop of a fantasy rainbow resin runway and artistic chairs created by Italian design icon Gaetano Pesce, it felt like a brave new take on extreme luxury. The collection also had a bit of subtle storytelling with visible flashes of different characters—we saw the office woman, the eccentric artist, and a new take on a high-society dweller. Erykah Badu, Kirsten Dunst, and even porn star Cicciolina sat front row, all dressed in their own highly curated and specific aesthetics, adding to the riot of differing looks.
It was one thing to look at Blazy’s bewildering dresses as static images, and another entirely when each piece was in movement—that’s when his attention to detail really shines. Blazy worked under Raf Simons at Calvin Klein before joining Maison Martin Margiela, and eventually, Bottega; one could easily see certain influences from the variety of those houses. You only had to gaze at the 3D slip dresses covered in blooms, the jacquard knits sprouting handknitted fringe, or the complex knits to see how Blazy is carefully creating a unique new DNA for Bottega Veneta. That he can do both understated minimalism and fantasy-driven maximalism is really spectacular.
