The new luxury according to Bottega Veneta

A brand's identity and values must be felt in digital and physical form. 

According to the author of the book The New Luxury, this is one of the main factors that differentiate the old from the new luxury. There's probably no better exemplification of this concept than Bottega Veneta, the Italian brand that under the leadership of Daniel Lee has taken a very specific direction. There are not only the well-known leather bags, coats and accessories, a reflection of outstanding quality and craftsmanship, differentiating Bottega from all the other fashion houses, but rather the imaginary, a particular and recognizable aesthetic that has become unmistakable. Looking at the images of the adv campaigns of the brand means diving into a parallel and fascinating world made of lavish furniture, yachts, exclusive cars, breathtaking landscapes, it's a low-key luxury, but nevertheless elusive. 

This imaginary, enriched by new elements, is what stands out in the new SS20 campaign of the brand shot by Tyrone Lebon on a yacht surrounded by the colours of the Mediterranean Sea. More than the square-toed sandals, the dresses and the leather pieces, what transpires is an ideal, exclusive by definition.

To highlight even more this idea of strangeness, otherness, estrangement from a common world available for all, Lebon played with visual codes and frames that reference the classic paparazzi shots, who spend their summers pointing the camera towards the yachts of stars and celebs. Although this type of photography is not something groundbreaking in the fashion world - Balenciaga built an entire campaign around this concept in 2018 - in this case, the reference seems univocal: Lady D in a light-blue swimsuit sitting on the springboard of a yacht in France in 1997, the year of her death. 

Despite it's been more than 20 years after her death, Lady Diana Spencer keeps remaining a style icon, and with the rise of the social media, she's turned into the role model and the subject of dozens of inspirational pages and mood boards that celebrate her timeless elegance and taste, building a real cult. Almost in an obsessive, macabre, unhealthy way, we keep looking at all Lady D's pictures, specially shot by paparazzi outside of her house, around London, on holiday, similarly to what happens, on a smaller scale, with the images of Carolyn Kennedy. 

The aforementioned digital form has established has one of the main strong points of Bottega Veneta, above all after the appointment of Lee. Not only the aesthetic and the message of the brand have perfectly been translated on that Instagram profile that counts more than 2 million followers, but they were further amplified by the actions of pages such as @newbottega. It's no secret that this profile has had an unprecedented effect on the fashion industry, even though it doesn't represent anything groundbreaking, managing to find a shared taste. It is therefore to Instagram, its cults and reference models that Bottega has taken inspiration for a campaign designed to make people dream (and to be shared). 

What New Luxury consumers look for is not a product, it's an experience that is part of a shared language. This is exactly what Bottega does with this campaign, it is not interested in selling that specific shoe or that dress, but rather selling an idea, an imaginary, that dream of a yacht under the Mediterranean sea.