Bottega Veneta bridges heritage with modernity in its collection at Milan Fashion Week
This generation of supermodels – including Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber and Kendall Jenner – walked the runway along with long-time brand icon Lauren Hutton, spanning past and present
It’s a season of celebration and commemoration at Milan Fashion Week, which ends today.
Angela Missoni marks 20 years as creative director at the family-owned and -run brand founded by her parents. Donatella Versace made an emotional tribute to her brother, fashion house creator Gianni Versace, to honour his contributions to the fashion world and his vision of female empowerment 20 years after he was slain. And Vogue Italia feted its new editor, Emanuele Farneti, with the party of the week inside a former customs station.
Here are some highlights of the womenswear previews for next spring and summer on day four (Saturday) in Milan, featuring Bottega Veneta, Missoni and Ferragamo.
Bottega Veneta inspires happiness
Tomas Maier gave a youthful edge to the new Bottega Veneta collection, infusing the looks with metallic and beaded accents that gave sparkle to a rich colour palette of rose, ocean-blue, lilac, moss and denim.
The combined men’s and women’s show illustrated Maier’s careful bridging between heritage and modernity. To underline the point, the creative director invited this generation’s supermodels to walk the runway and long-time brand icon Lauren Hutton as an honoured guest.
Gigi Hadid rocked the runway in a denim dress covered with silver eyelets and a fringe that flew as she took a corner. Her sister Bella Hadid wore a white version of the same. Kaia Gerber – daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford – walked in a satiny romper with a crisscross neck under an anorak. Kendall Jenner wore a seafoam green bodysuit under a trench.
The looks were utilitarian with an edge, and their understated colours allowed for easy combining for a lifetime of use. The technical prowess of the fashion house came out in a series of intricate snakeskin patchwork pieces that recalled cathedral stained glass, on jackets, belts, shoes and bags.
“Modernity is the way something is made,” Maier tells reporters backstage. “Modernity is not square and hard. It is how you conceive things and how you make them work.”