It was only days ago, when the fashion world fell into a frenzy over Daniel Lee leaving his role as creative director for Bottega Venetta. With the crazy memes and the rumors swirling of where he may go next, or his reasons for leaving, a lot of us were left wondering what may be next for the brand?
In the Early Stages
Before taking the role as Bottega’s creative director in 2018, Lee was working at Celine under Phoebe Philo and prior to his role there, he held positions at Maison Margiela and Balenciaga. With a portfolio as well versed as his, it came to no surprise that Lee was going to be successful in Bottega’s rebranding.
Who will be the New Creative Director?
However, now with him and Bottega parting ways, everyone was left in the dark as to why this perfect match did end so abruptly. Sales had boosted, the revival of the brand was going well and it was only a month ago where he held a fashion show in Detroit, where attendees like Mary J. Blige and Lil Kim were present. Well at this time we don’t know why he and Bottega separated. All we know is that it was mutual. Francois-Henri Pinault; Chief Executive of Kering, which is the luxury group that owns Bottega Veneta amongst other fashion houses such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and more, expressed his gratitude for all that Lee did for brand with its revival and thanked him for his work.
What Now?
Now when the news was announced, a lot of us were left under the impression that the search for the new creative director would take weeks, maybe even months. Yet, Bottega shocked us yet again, and as of yesterday Matthieu Blazy was announced as the creative director.
Blazy is no stranger to the brand. Before receiving the title for creative director, he was the design director the previous year.In the past he has worked as a deputy for Raf Simmons. Also like Lee, he worked under Phoebe Philo at Celine and as a designer of Maison Margiela’s “Artisanal” couture line. During his time at Margiela, Blazy kept a low profile and was anonymous to consumers due to Margiela’s house anonymity policy. However in 2014, that all changed when Suzy Menkes, the international New York Times columnist revealed who he was. Since then, lots of fans have been following his journey and calling him a star on the rise. For those who didn’t know him from these accolades, you may also know him as being the partner to Pieter Muiler, who is the new creative director for Alaia.
From the looks of things , a lot of people are confident that Matthieu Blazy will continue to elevate the brand. When Balenciaga and Hermes were looking for new design directors in the past, he was rumored to be the successor but they went with others instead. Soon after, he became design director for Bottega in 2020. Now with him being in the forefront and the one to call the shots, I think we’re all anxious to see what he will bring to the table. His first collection will debut in February 2022.