MILAN — Bottega Veneta is sharing insight into the making of its signature Intrecciato weave and into the brand’s artisanal workshop through a film directed by Massimiliano Bomba to be released Monday.
The film, titled “Craft in Motion,” was shot on location at Bottega Veneta’s atelier in Montebello Vicentino, in northern Italy.
Believing that “quiet power,” exceptional craft and creativity are the foundations of Bottega Veneta, creative director Matthieu Blazy told WWD that he thinks “luxury is something you feel rather than see; it is much more personal and emotive for the person wearing the clothing than for those looking at them. I want the wearer to be empowered without the clothing being loud. It is style over fashion in its timelessness.”
Blazy has excitingly innovated and evolved the brand’s time-honed leather work techniques. Cases in point, knit leather shoes, print leather denim, and the brand’s handwoven Kalimero bag, a bucket style that requires some 55 meters of calf leather and which is created without any stitching. The artisan in charge of the bag changes the pressure of the weaving process to realize the curved portions.
An artisan working on the Kalimero bag in a still from the film “Craft in Motion.”
“Craft is not a ‘trend.’ Neither is it something that has to be improved,” Blazy continued. “It is a timeless technology. The irregularities of handwork make each Bottega Veneta design unique. This for me is true luxury.”
The film alternates exterior and interior shots with the artisans working in the atelier’s luminous setting in a restored 19th-century stately villa that houses the atelier, ensconced in a park about 16 miles from Vicenza, in the Veneto region. Bottega Veneta’s own training school is also located in the villa.
One of the artisans’ most senior representatives, Ruggero Negretto, is the narrator of the film, which shows work in progress on the Cabat, Kalimero, Sardine and other Bottega Veneta bags — each meticulously cut, thread, stitched and woven by hand.
The film will be promoted on several media outlets, some cinemas and museums around the world.
The Italian luxury brand’s chief executive officer Bartolomeo “Leo” Rongone revealed last October speaking at WWD’s Apparel and Retail CEO Summit, that certain of Bottega Veneta’s iconic bags can be brought in for complimentary refresh and repair, and will be replaced free of charge in some cases.
Called “Certificate of Craft,” the service also provides for courtesy loaner handbags in cases when repairs are lengthy.
Blazy was promoted to the top job in November 2021 after the ouster of Daniel Lee, and has been challenging the artisans at its Montebello leather goods atelier to push techniques to new limits, Rongone said at the time.
The making of the Intrecciato weave in a still from the film “Craft in Motion.”
For fall, Blazy presented a striking range of accessories, from woven leather thigh-high boots to iridescent, jellyfish-like clogs and egg-shaped evening bags.
As reported in February, parent company Kering flagged “good momentum” at Bottega Veneta, which recorded a 6 percent increase in the fourth quarter,
