Gaetano Pesce's collaboration with Bottega Veneta is an ode to diversity

Fashion and design are once again meeting in a dialogue through the fertile synergy between Gaetano Pesce and Matthieu Blazy, creative director of Bottega Veneta. The encounter between the two designers and their eccentric artistic visions gave rise to a creative partnership that debuted under the title Come stai? last September in Milan. The collaboration was inaugurated on the occasion of the presentation of the Summer '23 collection, the second signed entirely by the Blazy, in which his imprint appeared clearer and more tangible than ever - the sudden change of artistic direction had taken place in November 2021, only a couple of months before the Winter '22 fashion show. "The world inside a room" was the theme that the collection and the set design were to embody, addressing an issue that is becoming increasingly dear to the world of fashion and fashion insiders: diversity.

The theme was tackled by the designers on two levels, firstly through the contrast between Blazy's universe, rational, made up of sensual silhouettes, leather and structured suits - only the cocktail dresses decorated with fringes, tailored cuts and jacquard fabrics were able to break its rigour - and Pesce's, kaleidoscopic, fluid, and characterised by a "gelatinous" aesthetic that found its maximum expression in the resin catwalk dotted with large splashes of colour. Then on an individual level: the Franco-Belgian designer's casting was a journey through gender, ethnicities and generations - not body-shapes, unfortunately - while guests were invited to sit on 400 different chairs - also in coloured resin - designed by Pesce and currently on sale on the maison's website.

Bottega Veneta AW23

Bottega Veneta AW23

Notwithstanding the undisputed artistic genius of the designer from La Spezia, it is not surprising that the choice of Blazy and the brand fell on Pesce, who said: «This space is a tribute to diversity. A tribute paid to the uniqueness of every human being. To those who say we are all the same - fuck them! We are all different, that is our hallmark. If this were not so, we would just be a copy of each other. We are all original, and this is one of the core themes of my design idea.» The search for uniqueness and the exaltation of diversity are in fact recurring elements in Pesce's artistic practice, and are the protagonists of extraordinary pieces such as Diversity Chair (2013) or the series Nobody is perfect (2020), in which chairs, tables, armchairs and stools are mutable in colour and shape, sensitive to light and reflections, and unique in their imperfection.

Unpredictability, errors, and flaws are widely celebrated by Pesce through the use of coloured resins, gelatinous elastomers and polyurethane foams, materials that he himself defines as endowed with an "intrinsic femininity." Indeed, Pesce has never hidden his fascination for the female universe, which he has returned to several times throughout his more than 40-year career. Blazy, for his part, who trained alongside Raf Simons, Phoebe Philo and the creative team at Maison Martin Margiela, has over the years developed a very personal interpretation of femininity that goes well with the classic, discreet, yet skilfully daring aesthetics of Bottega Veneta, the undisputed star of the Winter 23 collection presented during Milan Fashion Week last February. Not a simple fashion show, but a parade made up of faces, bodies and clothes that quickly followed one another like any city street. Highlighting the exceptionality of the chance encounters that punctuate our lives, Blazy's latest show was a celebration of the everyday life and of clothing as a place where we are allowed to be free, unique and brazen: simply ourselves.