Fashion is divided on a lot of things: Wearing white pants after Labor Day, Kanye West, how small is too small when it comes to the size of your handbag… One thing that no one in the industry disagrees on, though, is the significance of Daniel Lee’s role as Creative Director of Bottega Veneta. As the former director of ready-to-wear at Celine (at that point, it still had l’accent aigu), Lee learned from the best: Phoebe Philo. When Philo’s abrupt exit from fashion left us searching for a designer who shared her same affinity for minimal, elevated designs, Lee was the obvious choice. In the three years since, the 34-year-old has transformed Bottega Veneta into the fashion brand at the top of everyone’s minds. And like most everything Lee sets his mind to, his latest venture won’t disappoint.
Starting this weekend, when you log onto the Bottega Veneta website, you’ll be greeted with a slew of interactive experiences, each of which was created by a BV muse or collaborator and designed to provide a creative escape from the uncertain and isolated times ahead. The initiative, which Lee is calling Bottega Residency, will be accessible across platforms worldwide, from Instagram and Youtube to Weibo and Kakao. “Creativity and strength lie at the heart of Bottega Veneta,” Lee says. “In this highly distressing time, we feel a responsibility to celebrate those values and ignite a sense of joy and hope in our community and beyond.”
The schedule for its debut week has already been announced — hosted by Daniel Lee himself. On Monday, virtual attendees will get the chance to meet the designer’s favorite writer, followed by his favorite artist on Tuesday and his favorite director on Wednesday. On Thursday, Residency will provide a global guide to the best virtual experiences happening now. There will be a “live” musical event on Friday, and recipes from renowned chefs on Saturday. And every Sunday, the brand will screen “culture-defining cinema.” The following week will host another of Bottega Veneta’s residents, who, if we know anything about the brand, will be just as cool as the boss himself.
All in all, Residency is meant to “mirror an average weekend” and “provide a sense of familiar normality” — two things that we so desperately need right now.
So before another weekend of sleep, Netflix, and more sleep passes you by, consider logging onto Bottega Residency instead. Who knows, maybe it’ll be just the “theatre of joyous distraction, creativity, and collaboration” you needed to start April off on the right foot.
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