How Did Designers Transform Bottega Veneta Into A Big Heat Brand?

You must pay attention to those quiet people. Don't people say so? Speaking softly, humbly, thirty times, strawberry blond Daniel Lee worked in Bottega Veneta for 18 months, she won the first prize in the December British Fashion Awards (British Fashion Awards): she won four prizes of the year's best designer, the best designer in the UK, the designer of the year accessories and the annual brand. You can blame all this on the fashion industry's desire for fresh blood, and the fashion industry is eager to re establish its relevance in the world through this desire. Or you can believe in the path that Lee has taken, and this road has also made his countless creative people successful. Face up to orthodoxy and subvert it. Use a handbag. If you know that this handbag is just a lucky accident, there must be countless people chewing their Eyeliner angrily. More or less.
When Lee joined Bottega Veneta in July 2018, a whole series was almost completed. "That's why we didn't show up in the first season," he said. "We just had enough time to design several bags so that we could concentrate on doing some things and doing some publicity." He cut the clothes down to the iconic basic T-shirt, suit and windbreaker, and changed several handbags from the file. "Lauren" handbag is one of them, inspired by the accessories of Lauren Hutton in the movie "American dancer". "It is even more flat than" cloud bag ", with more wrinkles and hardware. It was made in a rather traditional way. We used the basic design to tighten it up and make it in a much faster way. Then, the original form of "cloud bag" Pouch is made.
In the same way, there are also "Cabat" shopping bags. In the first week of taking office, Lee took a turn around the outpost of Bottega Veneta. Located in Venetian, Montebello (Montebello) is the core and soul of the brand. The craftsmen here created the brand logo Intrecciato leather weaving, which is also the site of the production of Bottega Veneta household goods. Lee saw a sample of director chair weave: a black belt attached to an exploded Intrecciato woven leather. Second handbags have also been found!
In this way, Bottega Veneta brand remodeling is on the right track. Its sales in 2019 were close to 1 billion 200 million euros, an increase of 2.2% over the same period last year, thanks to the new man and his candy handbag which is irresistible. (in the fourth quarter of last year, its sales grew by 9.4%. )
Now everything seems easy, but Lee has to argue with the Sales Department of Bottega Veneta for this "cloud bag". "No Logo, no shoulder strap. It is actually not that practical because you have to search inside. But this is true for the brand, because when Bottega was first created, the bags they produced were soft, while other brands were hard. This bag has touch, softness, sensibility and a very attractive side. Because of wrinkles and traces, this bag has so many dimensions, so much depth. Obviously, this is also an extremely important tool in the Internet today. It is a very suitable item, "the designer said.
It sounds like a plan, but it's not. Lee needs some packages to take pictures. He did believe that the success was rooted in a brand name DNA, but he insisted that until December last year's British Fashion Awards, he knew how much money this belief could bring back. "I may be the last person to know that this handbag has been successful. I feel like I've been hiding for a whole year. But when the numbers began to show that the cloud bag soon became the best selling handbag in the history of Bottega Veneta, I was shocked. This is to keep up with what we can't help doing in the first quarter. I never thought it would resonate so much.
So why does it resonate? One day, the psychology of "It Bag" hot handbags may become the research objects of some post school academics. They will be curious about the interference we are facing in the process of doomsday. But this phenomenal handbag has not been popular for a long time until Lee revived it. "Handbags are what you have every day," he explains. "It includes your whole life. I am very interested in this idea, because it contains all your secrets. He admits that maybe even the soft touch of the waxy waxy cloud, like Fendi's famous stick bag, gives customers emotional attachment. Just like my bag, my pet. He carried a rucksack on his back and hid the secret in his coat pocket. He said he had many jackets because he was always testing fabrics to see how they felt. There are many pockets, many secrets. Maybe it's just lip gloss and chewing gum.
Lee is from Bradford in northern England, where families are not privileged. But he left an indelible feeling for you, that is, he is lucky to a certain extent, like koi carp. At home, he is a weirdo and an artist, but he always gets the full support. Lee went to a school which taught him inculcate, which gave him an unshakeable self-confidence. Even 15 years ago, there were many homosexual students in school. He said he was a quiet child who loved learning and making things, singing songs and playing the piano in choir, learning art and design technology, textiles and carpentry. He is very smart, so people speculate that he may become a lawyer or doctor in the future. But Lee likes dancing, and even imagining himself on the professional stage. His grandmother used to be a chorus girl. She took him to Alhambra in Bradford, where they saw such musical plays as "fame" and "Chicago". Then, when he was 16 years old, Lee went to London with his aunt, brother and sister for the first time, only three hours by train, but felt outside a cosmos. Within a few seconds, the world lured him.
Lee's second trip to London was to attend the prep interview. After that, everything is to make up for lost time. Club, carnival, live for the weekend. And central Saint Martin, this is a creative melting pot. After graduation, he was immediately hired, and in the next ten years engaged in lucrative jobs: Donna Karan, Balenciaga, Maison Margiela, and later went to Celine as the director of garment design. In March 2018, Lee left Celine, hoping to be free for some time. When he called, he was in Japan. What seems to be the group of Kai Yun group? I don't know. Group boss Francois-Henri Pinault and he held some secret meetings to ask if he was going to deal with Bottega Veneta. Before that, Lee did not know that the company was trying to win him the top job.
He claims that the craft of Bottega Veneta always resonates with him. "In fact, this is fantastic," he said. "I am from knitting garments, so technology has always been a great inspiration for me. This is very similar to Intrecciato weaving. It's a structural way to determine the volume and shape of an object. " So his initial proposal for Pinault is very close to what he is presenting in Bottega Veneta today. But he revised two important points: not just creativity, but also a company structure based on leather goods business. "Everything is concentrated in Italy, even in the store network. Because most businesses are handbags, stores are very small. I want to reeducate the whole company, the importance of ready-made clothes to brand image.
Now imagine that Bottega Veneta may be in a depression at that time, almost no track, but still worth billions of euros in business. A young red faced young man from Yorkshire, who is pale and shy, must face great courage to face the beast of the company. "Or stupid," Lee said with a smile. Luckily, his new boss told him to be bold. "Fran C ois-Henri does not want anyone to worry about the past of Bottega Veneta." We are talking about Kai Yun group. This company has sent a similar invitation to a guy named Alessandro Michele to polish the once ruined gem on the crown of Kai Yun group. Like Michele, Lee can't afford to lose. For example, Gucci. Like Bottega Veneta. Pinault obviously let them take risks.
"This is unbelievable, but it's also terrible," Lee said now. "Sometimes you feel very big and sometimes feel very small. It's hard to explain. " He admits that the role of creative director has changed. "Even Nicolas's work at Balenciaga is quite different from what it is now. This industry has undergone tremendous changes in the past ten years. A creative director used to do two shows and several advertising campaigns a year. Now, every day, we must have content. E-mail marketing, Instagram, billboards, guest host, cooperation with wholesalers... There are too many projects. "
But in addition to so many sticks, there is also an incredible carrot. Lee is working with professionals who he likes from childhood to work together, especially with ballet and opera professionals. "The challenge is to build a different community," he said. He moved to Milan for Bottega Veneta. Now he can go to the scala theatre as much as he can. The opera he has recently seen is Romeo and Juliet, starring young and sexy conductor Lorenzo Viotti. This reminds me of Rick Owens going to St Petersburg to see another hot conductor Teodor Currentzis. Did you smell a trace of the post sex appeal era?
Our fashion dialogue is surrounded by handbags. On the floor of the Lee studio, there is a new series of preparations to be released on Saturday. This is also the place where Tomas Maier has lived for 17 years. He doesn't want to talk much about the new series. "This goes back to the concept of technology, which is combined in this particular series. Everything is made by stretching. It is not so much the clothes for the purpose of travel, rather than the clothes to carry around, that you can use in any case. The idea of sports and stretching enables clothes to keep up with you. That's why I also like knitwear. It is dynamic. This is a way to reinterpret the key items in our wardrobe. I always like this kind of moment. When you take this dress or a bag or something else, you will think about yourself in different scenes. At least I will do this myself. When I bought a new fitness suit, I couldn't wait to go to the gym because I wanted to wear it. I thought, maybe this T-shirt will make me exercise better. "
Pragmatism in this mood has been injected into the Lee Bottega Veneta. Is this modern? "I don't know," he answered. "At the beginning of the year, I asked myself," what role do artists play in the world? "All I can think of is to create beauty and give people a sense of happiness. A gift! I like this feeling. The wonder of design is that it is so alive in the present, so invested, that what you are thinking is at hand. It helps you through the darkest and saddest moments. No matter what happens outside, it is invariable. "
Like psychotherapy? "Yes, the best cure is to go on." Life is overwhelming for Lee now. "I feel very vulnerable," he admits. "But I don't think there's any other choice. Just like a relationship, if you don't allow yourself to be weak, you can't get anything. " He said the new series "largely reflects my life experience and the environment around me. This is from my subconscious mind, but this is the whole thing. That's why it's hard to tell why this feeling is more important than anything. Bottega Veneta is very emotional and sexy. " According to astrology, Lee is an Aquarius, a man who can easily challenge rules. "A friend of mine read an article about planets when I was born, where there is tremendous potential for creativity, and there is a very strong and special sexual energy."
Oh, Daniel, you can't tell me when we say goodbye. We never talked about the sexy fire that you ignited under Bottega Veneta, the tense body, the abnormal combination of fabric and body. He said calmly, "this is almost what I am discovering about myself." In his studio, there is an emotional board, not a visitor, but a real work reference. Every season, something is added and something is taken away. The portrait of PJ Harvey, the most intense musician in England, has been on this board from beginning to end. "I like the feeling that a woman lives for herself, not for others," explains Lee. "Sometimes you will see her naked, and sometimes she looks very charming. But always she was endowed with strength. That's what I think of Bottega. It's all about you, not about the world. PJ Harvey is an example. "
No wonder he insisted that he was only the beginning of the story. There are many, many things to do.