Bottega Veneta Presented Its Summer 2022 Collection in Detroit. But Why? We Went to Find Out.

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Bottega Veneta essentially hosted a field trip for adults. On Thursday, around 40 people (mostly press) boarded a chartered plane departing from Newark Airport that arrived in Detroit about an hour and a half later. Olu & Company worked with Lee to create an itinerary with opportunities to learn more about why he was fixated on presenting his collection in the city and how it aligns with his sensibilities.

It was a moment of discovery for most of the guests, who had never been to the Motor City. A trip to a modernist home once owned by Hawkins Ferry, an architectural historian, showcased Detroit as a hotbed for modernist design—Cranbrook, an art school located 20 miles outside of Detroit, funnels a lot of designers and artists into the city. Detroit-based sculptor Chris Schanck, who also graduated from Cranbrook, opened up he and his team’s workspace to the group, allowing us to feel and touch his otherworldly structures covered in brightly painted aluminum foil and sealed with resin. And John “Jammin” Collins, a well-known Detroit DJ and member of the Underground Resistance, told the origin stories of techno at Exhibit 3000, a techno museum right down the street from the Motown Museum. It was a genre pioneered by four Black men (Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, Eddie Fowlkes, and Juan Atkins, who came up with the term techno) looking to build a sonic sound that signaled to the future and helped them escape Detroit’s terrible conditions during the ‘80s and ‘90s.

The pop-up brought all of these threads together. It featured art from Detroit makers like a table designed by Schanck, which someone could purchase for $165,000, and a black Lawless chair designed by Ayako Aratani and Evan Fay. An upstairs area included a record shop curated by the Underground Music Academy, a selection of browsable books picked out by Asmaa Walton, founder of the Black Art Library, an assortment of rare fashion magazines and books chosen by Ruben Cardenas, founder of the B_KS@ bookstore, and ceramics created by Hamtramck Ceramck. Lee wanted to enter the city by collaborating with its artists and creators and putting their work on a pedestal.

Since joining the brand in 2018, Lee, who worked under Phoebe Philo at Céline, has transformed Bottega Veneta from a somewhat sleepy but consistent Italian fashion brand known for its Intrecciato Weave pattern, to a buzzy one that’s namechecked in rap verses. On BIA’s hit song “Whole Lotta Money,” she raps: “Fendi on my body, but my feet is in Bottega.” Bottega embraced the mention and has dressed her for a few red carpet events.

You can see traces of Philo’s influence in his designs—that’s the case for many brands—but Lee has drawn in his own Bottega loyalists with bold accessories, including the puddle boot, and his well made ready-to-wear that feels special enough to wear to an important event, but cool enough to throw on while running errands. See Rihanna, for example, who wore a yellow Bottega Veneta fringe coat on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, then styled it later with a pair of cut-off denim shorts, a T-shirt, and ​​Aimé Leon Dore x New Balance sneakers.

Lee’s designs have resonated with some of the most stylish and influential artists, including Travis Scott, ASAP Rocky, and Skepta, and the brand is so hot it doesn’t need an IG account. Lee’s developed new signatures like the triangle-shaped hardware and Bottega green (a distinct shade of kelly green) that will probably still be around once he’s long gone. Fun fact: Bottega green influenced Joe Freshgoods when he designed his New Balance 990v3s.

A gradient of green was on display at the Spring 2022 show, which took place at the Michigan Theater, a once-vibrant venue that was built in 1926 but was gutted and turned into a parking lot in 1977. Guests included Mary J. Blige, who wore a maroon Bottega fur coat with leather pants, Lil Kim, who wore a BV ensemble covered in purple and lime green feathers, Kehlani, Syd, Burna Boy, and Detroit natives like rapper Babyface Ray, Rhonda Walker, a well-known Detroit morning news anchor, and Detroit musician Moodymann, who put together the runway soundtrack. Sidenote: a few Detroit natives have expressed being annoyed by not having access to the show, and questioned why it wasn’t a public event, but because of COVID-19 and an international guest list, organizers said they were following strict COVID guidelines to ensure it wasn’t a superspreader event. 

Lee said his collection was influenced by American sportswear, particularly workwear, a Detroit staple. This translated to a variety of workwear-esque jackets and matching baggy pants that came in denim, recycled nylon, and a coated textile that reminded me of the shiny suits Puffy and Mase wore in the “Mo Money, Mo Problems” video (styled by June Ambrose). He presented his take on a halter dress with an A-line skirt, which was memorialized by Marilyn Monroe, but switched up its construction. A white version featured black stripes that curved around the chest/torso before fluting out into flouncy pleats. Lee also presented items he’s known for, like sequins dresses or matching skirts and tops embroidered with tiny crystals. 

New accessories included a sneaker and slingback sneaker heel that didn’t feel like his strongest proposition, but he seems to have a loyal enough audience that will try them out. If not, they will definitely invest in his more plush cassette bags and smaller shoulder bags that looked covered in candy-coated paint. Lee’s great with accessories, but his other strong suit is his use of texture and color. He integrated metal threads into some of the fabrics, allowing the shape of the garment to be transformed or adjusted by the wearer. Another highlight was the terry cloth pieces—his bath robes covered in the Intrecciato pattern are a big hit. But this collection presented towels fashioned as dresses and coats covered in a more graphic print. He closed out the show with voluminous parkas coming in royal purple, black, and a slate grey. We predict these will be a fun, unexpected choice at future red carpet events. 

This collection was probably one of his most experimental offerings, and at times it felt a little busy and dispersed, but when looking at the the pieces one by one, they build nicely on the design ethos he’s established and toe that very fine line of being commercial yet innovative. But more than anything, they are cool. It’s the sweet spot most fashion brands are aiming to hit. Many do not.

Lee has spent his time at Bottega making good product while acknowledging all types of art forms and showing how they truly inspire him. To me, that doesn’t feel like pandering to any audience (there’s another Italian brand that’s adept at that). It feels like a brand that understands its sole job isn’t to sell product, but also provide a platform for all types of artists and educate others along the way. It all sounds very earnest and wholesome, especially in reference to a luxury brand operating in a capitalistic society, but fashion is powerful. And Lee understands that the fashion industry is at the height of its power when it properly acknowledges the people and cultures that influence it.