This all started with the Fall 2024 Bottega Veneta show. I wasn’t there in person and the pictures online turned me off at first swipe. Everything seemed so big. So dramatic. So styled. So heavy, in a now resolutely casual world. But a friend who was there in person vehemently disagreed with me at dinner less than an hour after the finale. She said the clothes walked beautifully. The textures! The colors! Everything incredibly special. I didn’t think much about it until a month ago when I started looking at the fall collections again. I like to compare them with the pieces I see trickling into stores.
I have said numerous times (I’m sure you’ve read it in the letter more than once) that a successful Prada show is one that I don’t love right away (so maybe there is hope for SS25 yet!) One that challenges me with new ideas that I’m not quite comfortable with and shapes that I am not sure how I’ll digest and then wear IRL. And the same can be said for Bottega Veneta under the current creative director Matthieu Blazy.
So let me be the first to admit that I was wrong. I was VERY wrong. Not only do I think these are beautiful clothes. I keep coming back to this collection as absolutely perfect for right now. The dresses are interesting and knock-out-special while still being pretty easy to wear (by nature of them being dresses. One and done.) There is a real audience for clothes like that: powerful, intellectual women who need to get dressed EVERY. DAY. I dress lots of you. And admire many more.
The shirting is extremely considered. The big collars. The elegantly draped blouses. Great colors, textures and layering ideas mixed in. These are clothes that wow all on their own, without needing to be an expert in putting yourself together.
But then, as I was dissecting these looks, trying to piece together ideas for how to recreate the magic, I started to get a bit bummed out. Not because I couldn’t do it, I can (as you will see below!) But because we are so immersed in dupe culture. The speed at which these ideas are recreated seem to make the pieces lose their specialness at an ever increasing pace (and they’re too expensive to last only one season!) Those poor Row jelly sandals. Such an amazing idea. So quickly a parody of themselves. So today, I wanted to dive into the hunt for specialness that I’m experiencing right now. The desire for interesting details and how to use the fall collections as inspiration without feeling like you’re just searching for a copy.
You might be surprised to know that I literally don’t own one thing from Bottega Veneta. But here is our first example of how I’m using the collection as muse and not crib sheet. I was drawn to the brand’s use of color, texture and layering to create this outfit, all from things I already owned. A fuzzy Lisa Yang sweater (this one is better) over a button down from the Row (but this looks great). Kallmeyer stiff silk pants (old but again, try these, sized up!?) to get that rigid pant look and super shiny black mules from Marion Parke (and a Metier tan suede mini tote.) Sculptural jewelry to top it off. This is not a copy but the idea of pulling concepts from the a collection overall.
What do we do if our whole closet can’t be the exact version of what we want? Some of these works of art reach the low five figures. I commend anyone who has the budget for supporting originality in the industry! But for most people, that will not be the reality. How do we embrace these new shapes without feeling like we are just trying to recreate something. How can it still feel special?
Pleasantly, can recognize that sometimes (in the case of this brand, at this moment), when magic hits in fashion, it can change everything for everyone. There are few designers that actually move the needle at the moment, and when they do, the rest follow. Blazy is very clearly one of those designers right now. As I started doing research for what I would actually want to wear as fall’s schedule ramps up, I have found that Bottega Veneta’s influence is quite literally all around.
The brand’s use of pastels anchored back to funny browns and greens and black are everywhere. Then there are the bulbous pants and big skirts. Their not-actually-original-but-fresh-to-us layering of turtlenecks and shirting. These are all ideas we can pull from to feel contemporary. And the rest of the fashion world is making it easy. My goal today, was to create some outfits I can come back to that feel anchored in the now, using my closet (plus a few new gems, naturally) that I could refer to all season long. In the meantime, as I have been browsing new arrivals for all of you, it became extremely evident to me how far Bottega Veneta’s reach really is. Even if you don’t know it, so many things out there right now have a hint of Blazy. So I started collecting the colors and textures and shapes that reminded me of this “look” without feeling like I was dupe hunting.
Maybe you have the budget for one or two Bottega pieces to add into the mix, maybe you don’t. Either way, what Bottega has given me this season is a fresh perspective. So below, a slew of outfits and interesting pieces that will make for a fantastic fall.
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A big popover shirt from Attersee (I’m wearing XS!) layered over the Tibi flouncy jersey dress from this newsletter creates the dramatic volume I am liking from BV. Plus an ivory crewneck from Flore Flore in place of their turtles…because I get claustrophobic in a turtle. Doublebagging like the Bottega runway (and I’m honestly usually double bagging anyway! Mom life!) and The Jimmy Choos from this newsletter are the perfect hint of weird color, a BV house code at this point.
As I was doing some supplementary market for this week, I couldn’t help but notice Bottega’s influence EVERYWHERE. So I complied four little vignettes today to prove my point from across the price spectrum. Clockwise from top left: Little Liffner bag. Aritzia sculpted turtleneck and pants, Zomer floral blouse, Proenza Schouler black dress with cape detail, The Ysso sculptural brooch to be worn on anything and everything, Aeron tweed coat, Toteme sweater, Le Monde Beryl flats, Lou Lou Studio skirt
A big skirt plus double layer flannels, taken directly from Bottega’s runway styling. I added in a super chunky old Prada shoe and a bag in an olive-ish brown which felt like the right compliment to all the browns in a very BV way. FdL and Chava flannels which look sadly mostly sold out at this point but here and here are great alts. Old Patou skirt but look at THIS one! The color! Prada shoes (try these?) and Savette bag.
Ok, so this might be the one place where I kinda think I bought a dupe!? This Cos shirt had such a good texture and was in such a perfect shade of mud! I couldn’t resist. This look was maybe the most important in the journey from inspiration to life for me because it’s truly real clothes for everyday life. The layering (black under brown), the shapes and the shoe choice all feel really new for me, even if the final product might be subtle. I wore these jeans all last winter with a rubber soled boot and big navy sweater. So this feels like a whole new life for them. Cos shirt with black tee underneath. Citizens Ayla jeans, Marion Parke mules, Dorsey bracelet, Dragon and Metier totes
Detail of this shirt, because you really need to see the texture.
A prime example of how we can absorb Blazy’s appreciation for texture, craft and color and put it all together out in the world. These Diotima crochetpieces are works of art in their own right (and will save you thousands!) The Mango coat (buttons all the way to the neck, and is flimsy enough to not feel bulky when you belt it, big winner!) over the Diotima at left or the textured Staud pants, Rejina Pyo x Mulberry scarf sweater and Bottega shirt at right (hey, we gotta include the master in here somewhere!) creates fantastic scale. The slightly aggressive pumps from Toteme, Pamela Zamore sculptural button earrings and most perfect Bottega Veneta bag. I want her more than anything (at the moment. HEHE.)
I don’t have a ton of “crafty” clothing. Just this Anna October set that I love so much and maybe one fringe skirt. But I love how Bottega works black in with the more artisan seeming pieces to ground them in a confident sexiness. I layered a tight black t-shirt from Refine (sold out but here is a good one) under this look, boy shorts (but I think you should probably do a half slip, I just couldn’t find my black one at the moment) and a tan cardigan to tone it all down. With Larroude wedges and Sophie Buhai silver and onyx teardrop earrings to finish her off. I better make some dinner plans!
Another thing that we can pull from BV? That less color is not always more. It’s the brown and black and yellow, and burgundy and blue and silver all together that take these pieces out of old Italian matriarch territory and into a fresh new concept. Clockwise from top left: Sophie Buhai silver hoops, Kallmeyer contoured button down, Flattered clutch, Mango blue button down (for layering!), Proenza Schouler White Label (how good is white label!?) knit top and skirt, Me+Em skirt, &Daughter sweater, Dries Van Noten pumps, Cordera jacket, Buck Mason polo/cardigan
A weird print + denim + a big structured coat really only pulls abstractly from this season’s BV. But it feels related somehow. Everything here is old season (except the shoes, which you already know) so here are a slew of alternates: Theory coat alternate here, Khaite animal printed pant, EM Reitz shirt, Flore Flore tee, Dehanche belt, Marion Parke mules.
And a few more fun pieces to layer. I’d love to see someone layer the blue cos turtleneck under the greige shirt over the stiff, dark Lemaire jeans. Or the red Cashmere in Love polo under the J.W. Anderson wooly brown vneck with that trumpeted Patou skirt, Bottega Veneta booties and the Sapir Bashar rope necklace peeking out of the collars. Top any and all of it with the fuzzy J.Crew blazer and Aliita pearls.
When I saw this Rodebjer twinset (top in a small, pants in a medium to be super big) I immediately thought of Bottega. It’s not exactly like anything the brand shows but the rich purple-y navy on flared pants flowing out from a 70s style tunic feel adjacent. The dramatic shapes and the fact that it was a full set feels like a nod to the brand. I layered an old Ven (RIP!) knit polo underneath and some chunky gold jewelry.
The brown stiff leather (I guess I don’t hate leather jackets after all!?) gives it all a very Milanese feel….I think?
I think I just created the cerulean blue monologue in newsletter form!? In any case, hope you found some fall pieces to make getting dressed this season feel special, easy and au courant!
Yours TRULY,
Becky
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Ok seriously nothing excites me like the thrill of putting my kids in front of the tv, pouring a huge mug of hot coffee and reading this newsletter and literally clicking on EVERY SINGLE LINK. So Becky thank you so so much for making something that I will sit down and ignore the endless chore list for!! I love this so much, I’m inspired and grounded! I’ve been really sad about dupe culture lately. The real thing literally puts a pep in your step!! And I think the conversation should be about going back to the original muse instead of buying a dupe of the designer iteration!! Ahhhh !! Ok have you been into a BV store before? There is one in SF where I live and it’s like a museum and the staff is so incredibly friendly. I’ve bought a few bags and shoes there yet they have literally let me try on clothes with two kids in a stroller in the past. Just a nod to the wearability and relaxed energy around pieces of art. When you touch and feel these clothes nothing will compare.
My favorite newsletter yet. You took exactly what I was trying to do in my own closet and put it into words. I am struggling with proportions and not wanting to wear combos that I previously loved. And now I see it’s because of the BV effect I had no idea I was under the influence of! Will be returning to this one all fall and winter (and bc I live in SF spring and summer, too).
Ok seriously nothing excites me like the thrill of putting my kids in front of the tv, pouring a huge mug of hot coffee and reading this newsletter and literally clicking on EVERY SINGLE LINK. So Becky thank you so so much for making something that I will sit down and ignore the endless chore list for!! I love this so much, I’m inspired and grounded! I’ve been really sad about dupe culture lately. The real thing literally puts a pep in your step!! And I think the conversation should be about going back to the original muse instead of buying a dupe of the designer iteration!! Ahhhh !! Ok have you been into a BV store before? There is one in SF where I live and it’s like a museum and the staff is so incredibly friendly. I’ve bought a few bags and shoes there yet they have literally let me try on clothes with two kids in a stroller in the past. Just a nod to the wearability and relaxed energy around pieces of art. When you touch and feel these clothes nothing will compare.
My favorite newsletter yet. You took exactly what I was trying to do in my own closet and put it into words. I am struggling with proportions and not wanting to wear combos that I previously loved. And now I see it’s because of the BV effect I had no idea I was under the influence of! Will be returning to this one all fall and winter (and bc I live in SF spring and summer, too).