British designer Louise Trotter showed her debut collection for Bottega Veneta in Milan Saturday with a collection focused on “soft functionality”, with structured clothes in supple, draped fabrics.
In front of an audience that included actresses Uma Thurman and Julianne Moore, the models wore leather coats and suits with wide shoulders as well as voluminous fur-like tops — one in shimmering gold — matched with slinky skirts.
Other dresses were more fitted, wrapped around the body and lined with cotton so they slid off the skin, in a collection focused on tailoring and the softest leathers, satin and wool.
Bottega Veneta is known for its handbags, and these were also big, brightly colored and made with the label’s trademark “intrecciato” leather weave and carried under the arm.
Trotter, who was named last December, said she sought inspiration from the early years after the founding of the firm in Vincenza in 1966, and its expansion into the United States.
This included the decision not to brand its bags but let the craftsmanship speak for itself.
“I think the early period between 1966 and 1977 is a good starting point for me. I discovered this sort of soft functionality in bags, a liberation of women at that time,” Trotter said backstage after the Milan Fashion Week show.
“And also I think I discovered this bold confidence. To wear a bag without a logo, you have to be confident.”
She recalled Laura Braggion, Bottega Veneta’s first female creative lead, who was part of Andy Warhol’s team in New York.
“I was imagining her journey, her freedom of being an archetypal Italian woman, moving to New York and that experience — it was a liberation for her,” she said.
Trotter took over at Bottega Veneta from Matthieu Blazy, after a career that included French fashion label Carven, Lacoste and Joseph.
She said working with the resources and artisans of the Italian firm, which is owned by French luxury giant Kering, was like “opening a candy box”.
All luxury brands have suffered in recent years from a slowdown in Chinese spending.
But Bottega Veneta has been more resilient than its Kering stablemates, particularly Gucci, with sales up one percent in the first half of 2025.
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