Bottega Veneta’s creative director, Tomas Maier, unveiled a 1940s inspired collection for fall 2013 where his imagination and skill came to light. The collection featured a subtle play of volume illustrating a narrative of intricate construction and precision cutting.
Wool played a big role, it was boiled for texture, thinly sliced and manipulated, treated for softness and felted for appearance. “I was into wool, and used it in different ways, washing it, bonding it, or felting it to create a print,” said Maier.
The show opened with a red lipped model with artfully teased hair which gave the appearance of freshly washed lambswool. She sported a pitch black, lightweight wool coat, detailed by crosswise sewn pleats and a mille feuille petal collar which introduced us to Maier’s deliberately controlled volume. The coat’s hem was intentionally frayed and featured a black, velvet ribbon tied at the waist. The look was paired with leather gloves, a small intrecciato bag and lace-up ankle-boots.
A slim, ivory, wool sheath dress that fell below the knee with sharp statement shoulders caught everyone’s attention. Maier used the dress as a canvas to illustrate his craft, using two couture techniques, felting and shearing to mix felted wool and crepe de chine together to create a red on white multicolor trompe l’oeil print. His obsessive attention to detail know no boundaries.
Maier’s genius throughout the collection was successfully conveyed through his fabric manipulation skills and the sculptural quality of the clothes. His intent was to emphasize volume and texture in an effortless way, from his extended 2D shapes around the waist to the sharp geometric shoulders, Maier’s genius is clearly visible.
