Bottega Veneta spring 2020

One has no choice but to accept when musical chairs is played within the world of fashion but that doesn’t mean that the latest iteration of a collection will reflect what the brand was built upon or where it left off in the hands of the last designer.

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Tomas Maier for all that he was or wasn’t  gave Bottega  Veneta panache, slick fashion, minimalism, an urbane edge and at  times some arty craftsy  looks which  one either liked or didn’t. My point here is quite simply that Maier’s successor, Daniel Lee, demands us to mourn the loss of Maier who put Bottega back on the fashion map and created something that really never existed before him. The clothes now are generic to say the least and worse that that they are tired and unoriginal and not befitting a brand’s stature. They are more mass looking than their prices will command.Daniel Lee has

certainly taken the brand down a few notches in more ways than one. 

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He, in his fervor to put his mark on the brand, has demonstrated his lack of knowledge as to how and what made this brand a prestige brand as well as what its vocabulary is all about. It is not just about leather but about how the leather was treated and how it was worked and manipulated and not just used as a substitute for woven fabric, let alone that the target audience is not 25.

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Bottega Veneta prefall 2019

While consulting VOGUE .com in search of Tomas Maier’s replacement, I came across this quote from the new designer … “I think there’s a need for a return to elegance and sophistication. “ Daniel Lee, former assistant to Phoebe Philo of Celine fame.

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So my question is simple … whose collection was he speaking of or possibly he needs to define what elegance and sophistication means in his vocabulary AS THESE CLOTHES RELFECT NEITHER.

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Maier was a love hate affair when some seasons were just exquisitely beautiful and others not so much but they always reflected a certain refinement and precision that he infused and coupled with the brand. Here I see a whole lot of “meh” clothes with “geta” like sandals and yes prefall wouldn’t be complete with a straw bag from a fabled heritage brand known for their leathers and intricate leather work.

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I say the system is broken and the so called fashion media needs to call out these designers as basically being full of shit and I might as well say it  … talentless or clueless when it comes to reimagining these heritage brands.

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This is a stunning example of what can go astray…..  The future will be more than interesting to see… as for the men’s collection, I guess Mr. Lee has no idea how expensive these clothes are for those who wish to emulate his homies!

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