Matthieu Blazy‘s fatal attraction for leather. In the Bottega Veneta’s collection presented six months ago, he showed what was possible with leather. In the most recent one, intended for the autumn-winter 2023-2024 season and presented during Milan fashion week, even socks worn by the models on the catwalk were made of leather: knitted with fine threads. Blazy, therefore, takes leather to the extreme, making it completely similar to the finest yarns. His acknowledged ability is to make leather extremely versatile through sophisticated and innovative workmanship, that he himself defines as the result of a vision based on the idea of innovative craftsmanship.
Even the socks are made of leather
Matthieu Blazy, creative director of Bottega Veneta, a brand controlled by Kering, is taking the brand in a new direction. Not just shoes and bags, but mainly ready-to-wear. And he is turning leather clothing into an art form. An example? The trompe l’oeil leather jeans. They look like “daddy’s jeans”, well worn, but they are actually printed leather. Also, made of leather are the pinstripe nightgown, the flannel shirt, the shawl collar overcoat and the crocodile-effect structured dressing gown. And the socks, too.
Innovative craftsmanship
“We talk a lot about craftsmanship and for this season we wanted to make it a little less dusty, without emptying it of meaning, but by making substantial improvements. The basic idea was to be innovative”. Matthieu Blazy speaks at the end of the fashion show (source: GQ Italia) wearing a shirt (first picture on the right) that while appearing like boiled wool, it was actually leather. An example of one of the many innovations introduced by Blazy, including shaving the leather to make it look like fabric, and making the garments lighter.
The collection works well in shops
Leather was also used, of course, for bags and shoes, where Blazy’s creative choices are making a difference. For example, it was seen in the metre-wide cigar-shaped bags that looked like something out of futurist Umberto Boccioni‘s studio. Overly artistic streak? Absolutely not, as the brand’s sales prove Blazy right. In short, it’s the leather that brings consumers, business and fashion commentators together.
Images from Instagram
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