Anticipation for Louise Trotter’s debut as Bottega Veneta creative director yesterday evening was electric, as the fashion-insider favorite and veteran of Joseph, Lacoste, and Carven ascended to a global stage. Outside Fabbrica Orobia in Milan, cheering K-pop fans lined the street, eager for a glimpse of BTS’s RM, Stray Kids’ I.N, and Meovv’s Sooin. Inside, the late-afternoon sun sparkled on colorful Murano glass stools, name cards suggesting a rare celestial alignment of three Academy Award winners—Julianne Moore, Michelle Yeoh, and Uma Thurman—within a former zinc factory near Fondazione Prada. Lauren Hutton swanned in with the same Intrecciato clutch as carried more than four decades ago in American Gigolo. And even the inimitably chic Zadie Smith, who only attends fashion shows every now and then, appeared with her teenage daughter.
The question on everyone’s minds: what would the new new Bottega look like? Matthieu Blazy (2021–2024) and Daniel Lee (2018–2021) steered the cult label toward a more pop sensibility, introducing status pieces such as trompe l’oeil leather jeans and parakeet green puffy mules. Yet for much of its history, the house eschewed obvious branding, living by the motto, “When your own initials are enough.” Founded in 1966 in Vicenza, a small city in Italy’s Veneto region near Venice, Bottega Veneta means “Venetian workshop,” a testament to craftsmanship above all else. Long before quiet luxury was a hashtag, Bottega Veneta’s buttery-soft yet indestructible Intrecciato bags handwoven from leather strips were a true if-you-know-you-know item.
With a soundtrack curated by director and artist Steve McQueen that remixed Nina Simone and David Bowie’s renditions of “Wild Is the Wind”—the first from the year of Bottega Veneta’s founding—Trotter delivered a collection that wove together the house’s distinct threads of heritage and reinvention. The opening look set the tone: a sharply tailored peacoat exemplifying Trotter’s hallmark minimal yet refined approach to wardrobe staples, accented with a subtle strip of Intrecciato at the collar and, in place of buttons, distinctive knots echoing the closures Tomas Maier (2001–2018) introduced on the Knot box clutch. Beneath, a shirt with elongated sleeves and parakeet green cufflinks met the sort of roomy trousers Trotter does bar none, tucked into sporty running shoes.
Trotter’s superpower, as one of the disappointingly few female creative directors today, is an intuitive understanding of what working women actually want: chic, office-ready separates that never demand a choice between comfort and style. Her jackets in summer-weight tailoring fabrics, cut oversize and subtly nipped at the waist, were considered yet effortless, as was her sleek nappa leather outerwear. Even basic crewneck knitwear was elevated by sculpted power shoulders. In Trotter’s evening offering, richly fringed skirts were paired with crisp, boxy button-ups for a striking interplay of restraint and drama, while architectural midi dresses combined modest silhouettes with a quietly provocative edge, a single strap slipping off the shoulder. Flat shoes—including pointy clogs and thong sandals—looked built for movement, as did roomy Intrecciato bags, large enough to hold a laptop.
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