Bottega Veneta Spring Summer 2026 “The Zest”. Story by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE. Photo Courtesy: Bottega Veneta / Elphile.

When Matthieu Blazy stepped into Bottega Veneta in 2022, the world sighed and braced itself. Many thought the house might not survive the weight of his self-proclaimed minimalism. Three years later, the results were predictable: the bags sold, the profits pleased the accountants, and the man himself cashed out and left for Chanel. Yes, Chanel — now officially on the receiving end of all the cactus juice that once flowed so generously at Bottega. One can only wish them luck.

Meanwhile, Bottega Veneta, happily liberated from this creative detox program, finally breathes again. The brand now has a future — and it has a name: Louise Trotter.

Her appointment last December was historic for reasons beyond marketing copy. She became the only woman among the year’s endless game of designer musical chairs — a season when boards shuffled their male geniuses around like poker chips. Rachel Scott’s arrival at Proenza Schouler made it two, but Trotter’s case carries weight. She has put in the work. From Lacoste to Carven, she built her portfolio with patience, craft, and something Blazy never seemed to grasp: genuine creative range.

Her debut tonight made one thing very clear: Bottega Veneta is not only alive, it is relevant. And more — it is daring… Is it really?

Trotter leaned into the brand’s DNA of craft and expanded it with striking confidence. She transformed the famous intrecciato into something spectacular — a tailored coat woven to resemble snake scales, a floor-length cape crafted from super-fine strips of leather, a robe coat brushed with feathers so light it seemed to drift off the runway. Movement defined the collection: skirts trailing in bands of leather, micro-pleated dresses with fringes tracing the body, and those shimmering “sweaters” — sculpted from recycled fiberglass, glowing under the lights in orange, red, and blue. “It has the feeling of fur and moves like glass,” she explained. In her hands, sustainability isn’t a lecture — it’s a spectacle.

Her silhouettes were bold, with broad shoulders and expansive tailoring, yet balanced by parachute silk dresses so light they seemed to hover. The play between volume and fragility felt refreshing, less like a gimmick and more like a vision of modern femininity.

The most surprising triumph? Her contemporary whites. Crisp, inventive, layered with unusual mixes of fabrics, they announced Trotter’s creative authority with confidence. No nostalgia, no gimmickry, no cactus juice. Just design.

The Bag of Sour Oranges – The Zest

Ah, the invitation. Once upon a time, Bottega Veneta meant discretion, understatement, and a near-religious devotion to craft. This season, however, the house chose to introduce its new era with a gesture that was less divine inspiration and more… market scavenging. The centerpiece? A bag — not just any bag, but a suspiciously familiar object with roots stretching far beyond Milan.

This so-called innovation has been floating around for a decade, passed through the hands of Taiwanese makers, reimagined by small ateliers in Europe and the U.S., even flirted with by Kenzo and Marc Jacobs. Reinvented, refined, localized, yes — but always within the honest ecosystem of smaller brands. And then there was Gwen in Houston, who made it undeniably hers. Her “The Zest” was no accident: finest double leather, a structured core, cut-out circles blooming to form shape and function, even patented. Poetry in utility, and it became so popular.

Fast-forward to Bottega’s catwalk. The ritual was repeated: guests sliding fruit into the Bottega-branded twin. The déjà vu was so overwhelming that American buyers were not whispering but shouting the only relevant question: Why Bottega resort? No ideas? No creative concept of their own?

And so the brand that once built its reputation on craft and authenticity unveiled its new chapter with a design already living a decade-long life elsewhere. Call it appropriation, recycling, or the most expensive orange carrier in history — but don’t call it original.

In fashion, authorship matters. A debut should roar with creativity, not whisper with borrowed echoes. For a maison that claims craftsmanship as its soul, this was not merely a misstep. It is a stain.

See All Looks Bottega Veneta Spring Summer 2026