Bottega Veneta’s German creative director Tomas Maier steps down
He helped revive sales at Italian leather goods brand when he arrived in 2001, but they have flagged after markdowns and weaker Chinese demand
German designer Tomas Maier is stepping down as creative director of Italian leather goods fashion house Bottega Veneta, its owner, luxury group Kering, said on Wednesday.
Kering offered no explanation for Maier’s departure and said that his successor would be announced soon.
Bottega Veneta’s sales surged after Maier arrived in 2001 as he breathed new life into the brand, but they have flagged in recent years because of markdowns and weaker Chinese demand.
Sales stabilised last year after Kering brought in former Hugo Boss chief executive Claus-Dietrich Lahrs to put the brand back on track.
It’s largely due to Tomas’s high-level creative demands that Bottega Veneta became the House it is today
The house has been bringing in new handbag designs, responding to criticism from some analysts that it has been a one-product brand for too many years, and relying heavily on its woven-leather technique called intrecciato.