By New York, early February 2018. A svelte gaggle of fashion journalists nestles in the idyll that is the third floor of the new Bottega Veneta flagship on Madison Avenue and creative director Tomas Maier is running through a few highlights from the season ahead.
"I have talked about the idea of private luxury for a long time," explains Maier, "it’s always been something I can relate to – I don’t like to be ostentatious and out-there, it’s not my cup of tea."
In his 17 years at the helm, Maier has practiced that credo, and BV has a renown for understatement – the company motto is ‘when your own initials are enough’, alluding to the monogram-ability of many BV goods – but the pieces Maier is discussing might suggest a change in tack. One can’t ignore the loafers, cut from jewel-orange suede, trimmed to look like-corduroy and stuffed with equally orange socks, or the animal print shirting. Even a blouson in butter-soft brown Napa leather has a many-toned, intarsia shearling collar. And downstairs, the S/S ‘18 collection lines the rails in all its soft pink and dusty yellow glory, so is this the end of the much-adored stealth-wealth of Bottega Veneta?
Well, no is the easy answer, as is demonstrated the next day at the full Autumn/Winter ‘18 show. On a rail, and next to Maier in his creative director uniform of jeans, white tennis shoes and navy crew neck, the colours were loud. But in the context of the collection, considerately styled and worn by beautiful young things, everything made much more sense. There was a chicness to proceedings, perhaps best demonstrated by a patchwork-y overcoat, which looked to be cut from silk, in a geometric mish-mash of tertiary colours. And then there were billowy, lounge lizard trousers in floral prints, but worn with mottled red coach jacket – and a faded purple rendition of those loafers – they were made louche; the kind of thing very cool people wear to very cool parties, and pull off with ease.
Overall, and not surprisingly, Maier has taken brash things and made them calm. An orange suit seemed wearable, as did a washed-out red zebra print overcoat, and those loafers (in black, granted) are properly good. When the collection rolls around (in five or six months), you might have to wear it all at once, but if you do find yourself in head-to-toe Bottega this autumn, then you’ve done alright.
