01BOTTEGA VENETA BUILT ITS WHOLE IDENTITY ON A REFUSAL: NO LOGO.
JUST INTRECCIATO, THE WOVEN LEATHER STRIPS ITS ARTISANS HAVE
PLAITED BY HAND SINCE THE 1960S, A BAG YOU RECOGNISE BY TOUCH AND
WEAVE INSTEAD OF BY A STAMPED-ON NAME.
02SIXTY YEARS AFTER IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1966, BOTTEGA HAS SOMETHING
NEW TO IT: A WOMAN IN CHARGE. LOUISE TROTTER TOOK OVER AS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR IN 2025, THE FIRST WOMAN TO LEAD THE HOUSE
CREATIVELY SINCE THE DAY IT FIRST OPENED ITS DOORS.
03SHE IS NOT A STARCHILD, AND THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT. TROTTER CAME
UP THE QUIET WAY: YEARS RUNNING JOSEPH, THEN LACOSTE, THEN
CARVEN. ENGLISH, LOW-DRAMA, RESPECTED BY THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE
THE CLOTHES MORE THAN BY THE PEOPLE WHO POST THEM.
04SHE ALSO KNOWS THIS EXACT ASSIGNMENT. IN 2018 TROTTER BECAME THE
FIRST WOMAN TO LEAD LACOSTE, ANOTHER HERITAGE HOUSE BUILT ON A
SINGLE ICON. TAKING A CODE EVERYONE RECOGNISES AND MOVING IT
FORWARD WITHOUT SNAPPING IT IS LITERALLY HER SPECIALITY.
05HER DEBUT SHOWED IN MILAN FOR SPRING, AND SHE WENT STRAIGHT FOR
THE HOUSE'S SOUL: INTRECCIATO STRIPPED BACK TO ITS FINEST STRIP, A
WHISPER OF WEAVE AT A COLLAR, EASE AND MOTION OVER FLASH. A
RESET THAT RESPECTED THE CRAFT INSTEAD OF SHOUTING OVER IT.
06IT IS A TELLING CHOICE. A DEEPLY CRAFT-OBSESSED HOUSE, SIXTY YEARS
ON, HANDS ITSELF TO A WOMAN WHOSE ENTIRE CAREER IS QUIET RESPECT
FOR MAKING. NOT A HEADLINE HIRE BUT A CRAFT HIRE. THE WEAVE, IT
SEEMS, IS IN VERY GOOD HANDS.