Bottega Veneta's secret show for the SS21 collection A presentation more cross-temporal than cross-sectoral

In a fashion world where creativity has become a frenzy of expansion and in which one looks forward to the future hoping to anticipate it, the "delayed burst" show that Daniel Lee has organized for Bottega Veneta has the air of a novelty, if not revolutionary, at least extremely imaginative.

The actual fashion show was in fact held behind closed doors last October 9th in London with a list of first-class guests: Kanye West and little North, Roberto Bolle, Skepta, Stormzy, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Salma Hayek. Later, the press and buyers received a box containing a green tote bag, three books and a record that told the collection. The first book was a mood board that followed the inspirations of Daniel Lee, the second, named The Importance of Wearing Clothes, was created by artist Rosemarie Trockel and explores the making-of of clothes; while the third is, more than a lookbook, a photo album of the London fashion show, shot by Tyrone Lebon. 

Regarding the clothes, the presence of an artist like Trockel, famous for her depictions on wool, already suggests that knitwear is the heart of the collection – and this for its tactile quality that also emerges in the photos when you can not touch the fabric. The purity and cleanliness of the cuts and constructions, together with the liveliness and texture of the materials, highlight how for Lee the most important aspect (as well as the focus of the collection) is precisely the concrete, the real, what can be touched and, above all, that can be narrated not only through realism but also through creative suggestion and vision.