MissMagAddict
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2005
- Messages
- 26,630
- Reaction score
- 1,310
MILAN — Bottega Veneta is lightening up for pre-fall with a bright color palette and unlined coats.
“It’s the beginning of the season, with an early delivery [in stores], people shopping are in good spirits and still tanned from their holidays,” the brand’s creative director Tomas Maier said in an interview at the company’s sprawling Milan headquarters. “Hence the lightweight fabrics and colors, which make for a nice transition into fall.”
The designer, wearing a gray hooded sweater over a shirt and white denim jeans, was in good spirits as he carefully oversaw the exclusive preview shoot.
Among his inspirations, Maier pointed to neo-realist movies and, in particular, the 1964 movie “Red Desert” starring Monica Vitti. It was director Michelangelo Antonioni’s first color film and was lauded for its experimentation with colors. Antonioni’s iconic red pipes and railings set against an industrial backdrop translated into Maier’s own techno colors, from cobalt blue combined with mustard yellow to pea green paired with black, or bright orange trimmed with off-white. The designer was also influenced by the facade of the Centre Pompidou museum in Paris and its brightly colored pipes.
“Color blocks are important to me for this collection,” said Maier, who further evolved the bold lines of the brand’s cruise 2011 season. The silhouettes are narrow and coats are smallish and light, made in combinations of wool and cotton or linen. There is some tailoring, as in sharp pencil skirts with volume on the back, combined with oversize sweaters.
“I like the image of women borrowing from men’s wardrobes, wearing their partners’ cardigans or V-neck sweaters, and I like how women take these items and make their own different looks,” the designer said.
Since his arrival in 2001, Maier’s razor-sharp vision and acute sense of quality have helped Bottega Veneta evolve from a flagging company into one of parent Gucci Group’s most successful brands. Maier said 2010 was a strong year for Bottega, which he attributed to “integrity on all levels and staying the course.”
He said “believing in what you do, thinking of the customer first and building the product” are his guidelines. And this consistency is allowing the brand to approach new markets while consolidating established ones. The company’s store on Sloane Street in London doubled in size and reopened in December. That same month, a second unit was inaugurated in Berlin, while a new boutique will make its debut in March in Munich. At the same time, the company is also opening stores in Asia, including two in China in February.
Maier’s controlled approach to the brand and to design allows for carefully planned product extensions, such as a home line, which, he said, is “increasingly growing organically.” The designer was visibly captivated by his latest project, the introduction of Bottega’s first scent in September, with launches planned for the summer. Produced and distributed by Coty, the women’s fragrance is a logical fit for the company, said Maier. “It’s part of our world. We are a company associated with scents, customers can touch and smell the hides.”
But he stopped short of divulging more details about the fragrance, on which he’s worked for the past year and a half.
In the meantime, Maier underscored the relevance of “always pushing boundaries.” Case in point: the new Fuzzy Cabat bag he presented for pre-fall worked with special tools to create a frayed version of the house’s signature Intrecciato weave.
source | wwd.com
