Bottega Veneta unveils first collection under new Creative Director Daniel Lee

Bottega Veneta this week debuted its Pre Fall 2019 collection, the first by incoming artistic director Daniel Lee, who replaces veteran designer Tomas Maier.

It was a low key launch, sans glitzy catwalk production and famous faces, that came in the form of a static presentation, perhaps to remove the artifice so many brands feel they need to present in order to hype interest in the clothes.

Lee's Bottega design debut

Lee, a Central Saint Martins graduate, presented a promising debut for Bottega Veneta, a Kering-owned brand that has been simmering of late but whose heat is being turned up. Kering knows it cannot rely solely on Gucci’s profits for growth, divesting its attention and investment to BV to bring it back to fashion’s fore.

To start, there is the obvious pedigree that should be addressed. Lee previously held the position of director of ready-to-wear design at Celine, a protégé of Phoebe Philo, where timeless and sophisticated elegance became pillars of the brand. Values that translate to the artisanal house that is Bottega Veneta, one of the last true luxury houses, that hasn’t eschewed timeless luxury for a quick fashion fix.

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We welcome Daniel Lee as Creative Director of @BottegaVeneta, starting July 1st, 2018. The British designer is a graduate of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Lee was most recently Director of Ready-to-Wear at Céline, and has worked for Maison Margiela, Balenciaga and Donna Karan. “Maintaining the ingrained codes of Bottega Veneta, craftsmanship, quality and sophistication, I look forward to evolving what has gone before, while contributing a new perspective and modernity.” – Daniel Lee #BottegaVeneta #DanielLee

A post shared by Bottega Veneta (@bottegaveneta) on Jun 15, 2018 at 12:30am PDT

Lee, who was officially appointed to the role in June, made sure there were plenty of brand identifiers that will triumph at retail. These include exaggerated woven leather intrecciato bags, a signature of the maison; leather sneakers with interwoven lace techniques; a plethora of leather icon jackets and a first menswear collection that felt both wearable and aspirational.

In an interview with Vogue Runway in November, Lee stated: "We (Bottega Veneta) have a name and everyone knows it, but it’s not going to be about logo-ed product. For me right now, designing real clothes is more exciting than a fashion message. We really need to establish who our icons are and have a bit of an immediacy around the clothes. I really want to evoke a kind of youthful determination in the work.”

Photos: Bottega Veneta Pre-fall 2019 © Catwalkpictures