Louise Trotter Weaves Herself into the Heritage of Bottega Veneta

"In the churn of this season's opening gambits for over a dozen fashion houses, British designer Louise Trotter's iteration of Bottega Veneta was always going to be dedicated to the house's guiding principle: craft. "I like that the 'Bottega' is a workshop," was Trotter's - literal - opening statement, couching the house in the fundamentals of handcraft, the action of making. Fashion not only as a noun, but as a verb."

"She talked about the centrality of intrecciato leather, not only in terms of garments - although she wove together as dazzling array of pieces from Bottega's signature criss-cross basket-weave nappa strips, from jeans, shirt and matching bandana, to a glossy caban coat, to a newspaper clutched by one of her rugged, square jawed and (very) wide shouldered male models. She was also fascinated by intrecciato as a metaphor - "Two different strips woven together that become stronger - the two things make a stronger whole.""

"Rather than eradicating the message of Bottega's recent past, Trotter embraced all the house has stood for of late, both in terms of techniques and the individuality of each and every look, creating a collection as collective, different characters walking side by side. An evening dress crossed with a trench coat, quiet day suiting with amped-up neon embroideries. And the methodologies of the clothes were often dazzling, with not only all that weaving, but animalistic fringes, wide leather bands exploding into ruffles of free-wheeling stripes,"

Louise Trotter framed Bottega Veneta around craft and hands-on making, describing the 'Bottega' as a workshop and emphasizing fashion as a verb. The collection centered on intrecciato leather, applying the signature criss-cross nappa weave across denim, shirts, bandanas, coats, and accessories. Intrecciato served as a metaphor of two strips woven to create greater strength, signaling continuity with the house's recent identity. Trotter preserved techniques and individuality from the previous tenure while blending tailoring with experimental elements such as animalistic fringes, wide leather ruffles, neon embroideries, and tufted multicoloured leather bags.

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