Last week, a bolt from the blue hit the fashion system: Daniel Lee and Bottega Veneta decided to part ways. According to the official statement released by Kering, the luxury Holding owner of Gucci and Balenciaga besides, precisely, Bottega Veneta, it was a “joint decision”, but this strategic move appears extremely unexpected and may hide the desire of Mr. Lee to join Phoebe Philo as co-creative director in her upcoming eponymous label.
The choice becomes even more inexplicable when considering the huge growth and renewal movement embarked by the now former creative director since his arrival at the maison three years ago. Indeed, Mr. Lee immediately undertook serious disruptive decisions, from an outstanding reinterpretation of the classic “intrecciato” leather style, to the contested signing off from all Bottega’s social media profiles, passing through a new method of presenting its collections that revolves around the concept of a secret society.
These moves allowed the company to establish a new brand identity and, although they have often been subject to criticism and perplexity, numbers do not lie: Bottega Veneta managed to keep growing in terms of sales and customer attraction during the whole pandemic period in 2020, reaching 1.2-billion-euro sales while most luxury brands were facing dramatic crises. Additionally, latest Kering declarations report of 363.4-million-euro revenues in the third quarter of 2021, which represent a further 9.3 percent growth over 2020.
“I am very grateful to Daniel for having brought his passion and energy to Bottega Veneta. His singular vision made the House’s heritage relevant for today and put it back to the center of the fashion scene”: these are the words used by François-Henri Pinault, Chairman & CEO of Kering, to bid farewell to Daniel Lee, thus certifying the end of a successful chapter for the Venetian brand. However, Kering did not wait too long before announcing its future strategy and, through an official statement, the Holding revealed the new creative director: Matthieu Blazy. The relatively unknown designer boasts a huge experience in some of the greatest ateliers of the fashion system, from Maison Martin Margiela to Céline, but he formed most of his talent under the wings of Raf Simons. In 2020, he joined the Bottega’s family as RTW Design Director and he seems now ready to take the plunge.
The road taken by the brand is, therefore, clear: draw the attention and bet on the further development of a more avant-garde and disruptive approach that aims at overcoming the traditional attitude that characterised the label before Lee’s arrival. The purpose is, hence, to follow the journey started by Daniel Lee and, if possible, evolve his vision.
In order to judge the success or failure of the move towards the expansion of the prêt-à-porter, then, we must wait for Blazy’s debut collection, probably out during the upcoming Fall-Winter Season.
By Mattia Segantin
