There was a fabulous woman seated in the front row at Bottega Veneta last night. She wore her own clothes and wasn\u2019t getting her picture taken, even though she was sitting next to the inimitableLauren Hutton. She was dressed in a navy knit dress with big gold buttons, sci-fi cat-eye sunglasses, a pair of black tights, and simple black flats, as well as two strands of pearls, one thick and short and the other delicate and long. After the show, which marked Louise Trotter\u2019s debut as creative director, I learned that the woman\u2019s name is Laura Braggion. She is one of Bottega Veneta’s founders and a former creative director\u2014the first-ever female creative director of the house, in fact. <\/p>\n
Braggion was part of the inspiration for Trotter\u2019s Spring 2026 collection. As the designer said backstage, her intention was to capture the essence of the journey of this brand, which includes its \u201cadolescence\u201d under the stewardship of Braggion. \u201cLaura lived in New York and was part of Andy Warhol\u2019s Factory,\u201d Trotter explained backstage. \u201cI was imagining her journey there, moving to New York as an archetype of an Italian woman, and what that must have been like. It was a liberation for her, and this is a liberation.\u201d Braggion was also responsible for opening the first Bottega Veneta store in New York in 1972. Next year is the 60th anniversary of Bottega Veneta. <\/p>\n
Trotter\u2019s debut collection showed reverence for the house\u2019s heritage by way of the poetic nature of the clothes, their construction, and the way they moved on the body. But there was also a bold assuredness in the tailoring, the styling, and the execution of new shapes, most of them volumized. It felt like a part of Trotter\u2019s personal journey in this industry, having worked for many years at labels like Whistles, Joseph, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and most recently, Lacoste and Carven. She is the only female creative director under the Kering umbrella and the only female creative director making her debut this season at a European luxury maison. <\/p>\n The show was soundtracked by artist and director Steve McQueen, who aimed to create a kind of operatic environment inside the Bottega headquarters with two tracks woven together like the brand\u2019s famous Intrecciato: Nina Simone and David Bowie\u2019s versions of \u201cWild Is The Wind.\u201d (Nina Simone\u2019s version was released in 1966, the same year Bottega Veneta was founded.) The clothes that came down the runway were rigorously crafted but never unwearable, even if there was a heaviness to some of the separates and suit tailoring. (Trotter said she tailored the men’s and women’s together, with the same techniques. Again, Intrecciato!). <\/p>\n Dresses were designed with canvas underneath the fabric to make them look like they were falling off the body. Pencil skirts were given life thanks to ombre fiberglass fringe that wisped and bounced as the models walked by, some wearing square-cut tees and others in boxy-collared, short-sleeved button-downs. These pieces, along with a few of the giant hemlines, were inspired, Trotter said, by seeing the Bottega artisans in Montebello working with piles and piles of leather surrounding them. There were satin leathers and rich Italian wools, and so many woven pieces. A nipped-waist brown leather jacket styled with a pair of baggy pants was particularly cool. Ditto the tubular-shaped Intrecciato stoles wrapped loosely around a couple of the models\u2019 necks. <\/p>\n Trotter showed a range of shoes that included inflated-looking clogs, minimalist sneakers, and slingbacks with leather straps that looked like they were pulled and twisted, tied in a big knot at the heel. Her new Bottega bags were scrunchy in shape, some inspired by Hutton\u2019s clasp clutch in American Gigolo, which helped put the Italian fashion house on the global map. As Trotter also noted backstage after the show, she took a deeper dive into the archives of the late 1960s, a period that she said \u201cwas a good starting point for me. I discovered this soft functionality in the bags, and there was also a liberation of women happening at that time.\u201d She added, \u201cAnd I also discovered this bold confidence\u2014to wear a bag without a logo, you have to be confident.\u201d <\/p>\n Bottega Veneta is one of the very few European luxury brands that doesn\u2019t have to lean heavily on its monogram or logo. The Intreccato is instantly recognizable\u2014a design code distinct to a house that has always led with craft and material. Trotter has had plenty of time over the course of her impressive and varied career to hone her craft, too. She created a pair of pants that became an overnight sensation at Joseph, helped Calvin Klein (the man) develop jeans, worked at the intersection of sport and fashion at Lacoste, and then revived Carven from the near-dead, designing beautiful, intentional clothes for women who want more joie de vivre than a simple skirt and a nice blazer can offer. Trotter\u2019s debut brought all of her own design perspectives to Bottega\u2019s storied worktable, and the results last night represented a lovely new era for both her and for the house. <\/p>\n After the show, Bottega Veneta\u2019s former design director Edward Buchanan went over to hug Braggion goodbye. She hired him when he was in his late 20s, and, from 1996 to 2000, he helped create the first-ever ready-to-wear category for the house. From where I stood, it looked like an emotional reunion. <\/p>\n Fashion, in its simplest terms, is a business, but it\u2019s also true that heritage houses like Bottega Veneta started with a small idea, a person, a partnership, and a family. Those stories can get lost these days, when the history of the brand comes down to marketing and companies become so enormous that the people actually responsible for it all don\u2019t get any airtime compared to the current creative directors, CEOs, and celebrities. Last night\u2019s show felt tender thanks to the way Trotter brought those important pieces of the story back together and wove them into her debut collection. And better yet, it provided a perfect jumping-off point for her to write the next chapter. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"bottega\"](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/bottega-veneta-s26-074-68d83923d5f6e.jpg?resize=980:*\" "\\"bottega\\"")
<\/p>\nBottega Veneta Spring Summer 2026 Ready to Wear<\/h5>\n
![\"bottega\"](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/bottega-veneta-s26-001-68d838e2930f4.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top\" "\\"bottega\\"")