We were finally able to see the latest Bottega Veneta collection, presented last April to a group of friends of the designer at the most famous nightclub in Berlin, Berghain.
Daniel Lee named these collections of Bottega Veneta “Salon” in reference to an earlier era in fashion in which couturiers organized ballroom shows in front of a small group of guests. Salon 01 (Spring 2021) was held in London last fall and Salon 03 will be held this fall in Detroit.
We are already used to Lee’s way of approaching exclusivity and secreteness with Bottega to contrast our hyper-connected era, so it’s no surprise that he chose a very exclusive venue, known for its strict door policy, to introduce Salon 02: Berghain, a notorious underground nightclub of industrial-techno music in Berlin.
Salon 02 was the presentation for the fall-winter 2021 collection, and it was photographed by Tyrone Lebon. This was a one-of-a-time exception, since Berghain has a famous house policy of allowing only their photographer, Wolfgang Tillmans, to take photos of their guests. The show was followed by an after party at Berlin’s Soho house.
The super exclusive guest list, which appeared to be comprised primarily of music creatives and designers, included British rappers Skepta and Slowthai, Off-White and Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh, designer Stefano Pilati, music creative Honey Dijon, and producer Kwes Darko, among others.
The lucky ones who got access to the secret runway saw a total of 61 looks for men and women that ranged from the austere to absolute extravagance, but never losing the well-known sophistication of the label. The proposal for women included divine tops and dresses in shades of caramel and chocolate that wrapped twice around the neck ending with a tassel, and trench coats paired with thigh-high boots.
There were also mini-dresses accentuated with fringe details, several handbags finished with leather tassels, jumpsuits adorned with thousands of ostrich feathers and voluminous faux fur coats. For the man walking the teal-colored runway there were sci-fi trenches, oevrsized coats, leather pants and black handbags paired with black chunky boots.
We obviously can’t forget the most daring choice for the collection, their “inflatable” styles inspired by balloons, with each inflated row woven together. With cartoonish proportions, there are inflatable tote bags in black and turquoise and also jackets.
An interesting color palette of deep plums, teals and bright reds and oranges compose the collection, adding pops of colour to the neutral shades. But the black surely took its place in total-looks for both genders in ensembles that feature the brand’s already signature boxy, structured tailoring.
The campaign images were also released alongside the collection, including models Freja Beha Erichsen, Dede Mansro, Fernando Cabral, Takahiro Oda and Yoonmi Sun, all shot by photographer Tyrone Lebon.
