STYLE Edit: Bottega Veneta’s new Point ‘It’ bag by creative director Daniel Lee is the season’s celebrity favourite and sets your summer style right on trend

Apr 19 , 2021

Creative director Daniel Lee has reimaged the Wardrobe 01 pre-spring collection’s hit handbag, taking inspiration from artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, model Tina Chow and musician PJ Harvey. Photo: Bottega Veneta

Following the success of its hit Pouch and Cassette bags, Bottega Veneta’s new Point piece is a continuation of the pre-spring 2021 Wardrobe 01’s Triangle line

Lee drew inspiration from artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, model Tina Chow, musician PJ Harvey and German conceptual artist Rosemarie Trockel in crafting the piece

Bottega Veneta has been hitting home runs on the handbag circuit lately with the popularity of the Pouch and the padded Cassette bag in seasons past. And its new offering for spring, the Point handbag, looks poised to take up more prime wardrobe real estate.

A continuation of the Triangle line launched in Bottega Veneta’s pre-spring 2021 Wardrobe 01 collection, the refreshed Point bag features a triangular cut-out for the handle that represents the “V” in Bottega Veneta’s name. The geometric shape appears in a number of clothes and accessories by creative director Daniel Lee, whose tenure at Bottega Veneta began in June 2018.

Beauty is the rough and the smooth, the straight and narrow, and the wide open

Neneh Cherry, singer, at Bottega Veneta’s Salon 01 launch show

Bottega Veneta’s Point handbag was launched as part of the pre-spring 2021 Wardrobe 01 collection. Photo: Bottega Veneta

On the Cassette cross-body, for instance, a triangle buckle sits on the adjustable strap – the only metal hardware in the piece. In the new spring collection, a towelling knit dress features a fringed “V” neckline, as well as some pretty spectacular padded elements on the hip.

But the Bottega Veneta “V” is intentionally a world away from the blingy monograms and motifs used by some luxury brands. The subtle allusion to Bottega Veneta is in line with the house’s “stealth wealth” aesthetic, which focuses more on the brand’s iconic shapes, fabrics and finishes than the name itself. This type of “quiet luxury” has struck a chord with today’s luxury consumers, who seem to say – at least by their purchasing decisions – that ostentatious displays of wealth are in relatively poor taste, particularly during a pandemic-impacted global economy.

Bottega Veneta’s Salon 01 collection. Photo: Bottega Veneta

In the Salon 01 collection, which prominently featured the new Point bag, Lee was reportedly inspired by the new domestic arrangements that the global pandemic has prompted. The ideas of home comforts and domestic handicrafts influenced many of the pieces in the collection. Lee’s other muses included artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, model Tina Chow, musician PJ Harvey and German conceptual artist Rosemarie Trockel – known for her knitted wool paintings.

The soundtrack of the Salon 01 show, a live spoken-word performance by British singer Neneh Cherry, also gave a nod to the new Bottega Veneta’s stress on comfort and tactility. “Beauty can be so … it’s of so many things, isn’t it,” Cherry says to the socially-distanced audience members of Lee’s intimate viewing for the spring collection, “It’s the rough and the smooth, you know, the straight and narrow, and the wide open.”