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The Guardian

If the weight of being the most hyped designer of the moment has gone to his head, Bottega Veneta’s creative director, Daniel Lee, wasn’t showing it at his spring/summer 2020 show at Milan Fashion Week.
I want to make a statement – I don’t see the point in making fashion that doesn’t say something
Daniel Lee
It has been seven months since the British designer made his debut for the Italian house to huge critical acclaim in February. Before his arrival, the house had been helmed by Tomas Maier for 17 years and had built a strong identity for reliable, if safe, luxury. It was a rule book that Lee respected but rewrote with his first collection. The fashion industry raced to be the first to shoot it, Instagram blew up with adoration for it and waiting lists amassed before product hit the shop floor.
STYLE Edit: Daniel Lee makes Bottega Veneta debut with luscious bags

His mechanism for handling such immediate attention and interrogation, he said, is one that many creatives will identify with: he retreated.

“This last year has been intense, I haven’t gotten out much,” he smiled backstage, adding that in the build-up to this outing he has remained quite insular. It was aided by the fact that he doesn’t have Instagram so is sheltered from the hype.
STYLE Edit: Bottega Veneta’s unisex Maxi Cabat reinterprets an icon

Of course Lee – who previously worked in the design team at Celine – has something on his side that he didn’t have last season: the benefit of hindsight. He knows what his Bottega customer wants because they have been all-consuming of it. Composed and humble in person, the quiet confidence he now possesses showed in this second collection.


Leather, the brand’s unique selling point (USP), dominated throughout, from the first paper-thin asymmetrical dress to the black boiler suits, hooded anoraks and belted trenches, all of which were lightweight, being a spring/summer collection and waterproof. He’s a Brit after all.
This last year has been intense, I haven’t gotten out much
Daniel Lee
As well as being a texture-fest, key looks included a trio of cowl-neck sequinned dresses in zingy tomato red, gold and blue and a duo of halterneck scarf tops with pineapple and Matisse-inspired monkey prints. The latter was to have “something that felt cheeky. A lot of the collection felt quite graphic and prints are something that I’ve felt interested in since the beginning.”

They were, he said “clothes to live in … solidifying the icons and the things that we’ve become known for” but rooted in “the reality of dressing and close to living”. While it won’t be everyone’s idea of everyday clothes, no less the former Bottega customer, Lee’s growing fan base says otherwise.
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The most popular pieces from his last collection were unquestionably his slip-on leather heels and he continued what is sure to be a winning streak. This time they featured the unique woven method called Intrecciato which the brand owns and has purveyed for years. Bags – another brand staple – came in the same design. The classic hobo bag was given the XXXL treatment and came slung around the body, while moulded wooden box clutches were new.

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“Every collection so far has felt an evolution to what we’ve ever done before. Since I first met with [Bottega Veneta owner and Kering CEO] Francois-Henri Pinault and was deciding what I wanted it to be, its felt like a constant evolution.”


While financial confirmation of his work is yet to be posted, the palpable sense of its success will be assuring Pinault he has backed a winner with Lee’s appointment. In the midst of a month’s worth of shows, highlights like this stand out.
“I want to be bold – otherwise what’s the point?” reasoned Lee. “I want to make a statement – I don’t see the point in making fashion that doesn’t say something. You love it or you hate it but that’s human nature.”
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Fashion

Milan Fashion Week: How far has Daniel Lee bent the rules for his first Bottega Veneta collection?

Models present Bottega Veneta’s creations during the women’s spring/summer 2020 collection at Milan Fashion Week on September 19. Photo: AFP

epa07854084 South Sudanese Australian model Adut Akech presents a creation by Bottega Veneta during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 19 September 2019. Spring-Summer 2020 women's collections are presented at the Milano Moda Donna from 17 to 23 September. EPA-EFE/Daniel Dal Zennaro

epa07854076 A model presents a creation by Bottega Veneta during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 19 September 2019. Spring-Summer 2020 women's collections are presented at the Milano Moda Donna from 17 to 23 September. EPA-EFE/Daniel Dal Zennaro

A model presents a creation for Bottega Veneta during the Women's Spring Summer 2020 collection fashion show on September 19, 2019 in Milan. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

epa07854078 A model presents a creation by Bottega Veneta during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 19 September 2019. Spring-Summer 2020 women's collections are presented at the Milano Moda Donna from 17 to 23 September. EPA-EFE/Daniel Dal Zennaro

A models presents a creation for Bottega Veneta during the Women's Spring Summer 2020 collection fashion show on September 19, 2019 in Milan. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

A model wears a creation as part of the Bottega Veneta Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

epa07854085 Models present creations by Bottega Veneta during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 19 September 2019. Spring-Summer 2020 women's collections are presented at the Milano Moda Donna from 17 to 23 September. EPA-EFE/Daniel Dal Zennaro

STYLE Edit: Why Bottega Veneta’s Daniel Lee is in the mood to celebrate his first men’s collection

Bottega Veneta’s Fall 2019 collection was Daniel Lee’s first for the brand since he became creative director in June 2018.

Bottega Veneta's Fall 2019 collection, Lee’s first show for brand since his appointment as Creative Director in June 2018 | FOR STYLE USE ONLY

STYLE Edit: How Bottega Veneta has moved on from the past with Daniel Lee's debut show

Daniel Lee wasted no time in leaving his imprint on Bottega Veneta’s Fall 2019 collection, his first show for the Italian house since he was appointed creative director in June 2018.

The Fall 2019 collection marked Daniel Lee’s first show for Bottega Veneta | FOR STYLE USE ONLY

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Leather dominates from the paper-thin asymmetrical dress to the black boiler suits, hooded anoraks and belted trenches


Milan Fashion Week: How far has Daniel Lee bent the rules for his first Bottega Veneta collection?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Leather dominates from the paper-thin asymmetrical dress to the black boiler suits, hooded anoraks and belted trenches

Leather dominates from the paper-thin asymmetrical dress to the black boiler suits, hooded anoraks and belted trenches