You were looking forward to seeing Matthieu Blazy’s new and first campaign as creative director of the Bottega Veneta fashion house, weren’t you? We understand, we’ve been waiting for it too, and don’t worry, because fortunately the wait is over and it’s already been unveiled.
Bottega Veneta’s winter 22 campaign is not just an ordinary campaign, but much more than that, as it signifies and marks the official start of a new era for the Italian luxury brand; the Blazy era.
From now on, as you may already know, Matthieu will be in charge of the creative part of the company, and from what we saw in his debut collection presented last February in Milan, it seems that the aesthetic will be quite similar to that of the previous designer, Daniel Lee. But unlike Lee, Blazy has found a (rather important) point to focus on, craftsmanship, as the designer said in the press release: “Bottega Veneta was created by a collective of artisans. This is the history, and this is how we approached the campaign: together, with many different ways of seeing.”
The campaign enlivens Matthieu’s notions of craftsmanship in movement and silent power through 41 static images, shot mainly in film format by different photographers, some renowned and some younger who had never worked in the fashion industry before. All the work took weeks rather than days to complete, building reciprocal relationships between the photographers and the models throughout the process, with each sharing their own experience, movement and personal story through Bottega Veneta garments and accessories.
As for the images that make up the campaign, starring a diverse and intergenerational cast (and wearing the latest creations), we can see how they present a multiplicity of different points of view: from the photographers and cinematographers to the models. Here, Blazy’s “foundational” collection begins its journey from the backstage of the Palazzo San Fedele in Milan to the Horst Festival in Belgium and back to Italy to end up on its southern coast.
Ultimately, Bottega Veneta Winter 22 campaign is both playful and pragmatic; from the intimacy of the instant to the careful composition, there is an exploration of the space between the creation and capture of a particular moment alongside the alchemical possibilities of collective points of view.
“Bottega Veneta is, in essence, pragmatic because it is a leather goods company. Because it specializes in bags, it is about movement, of going somewhere; there is fundamentally an idea of craft in motion. It is style over fashion in its timelessness. That is part of its quiet power.” –Matthieu Blazy.
It was worth the wait, wasn’t it? Take a look at the images below:
