Tag: vogue

I took this still life photo in 2020, a year that for the entire world was marked by the pandemic and was particularly hard on the fashion industry. At that time, various lockdowns were taking place, most of us were working from home, and being a photography enthusiast for as long as I can remember (as I wrote about in my article dedicated to photography), the long moments of inactivity due to that phase really allowed me to get in touch with my creative side. In fact, it was in 2020 that I opened my Flickr account and photography was one of the few things that kept me sane during a time that was incredibly difficult for everyone. 

I wanted to capture on camera my Bottega Veneta chain pouch bag together with a vintage issue of Vogue UK that I purchased a few years earlier on eBay because I often enjoy creating new compositions and I found it interesting to compare the old with the new in order to create a sort of contrast; a Vogue UK issue from August 1957 paired with one of the new symbols of the Italian luxury brand Bottega Veneta, a pouch clutch developed in 2018 by former creative director Daniel Lee that quickly became the best-selling bag in the brand’s history. Lee was essential in the development of Bottega Veneta’s ready-to-wear production; although he retained the brand’s iconic features, first and foremost the Intrecciato, at the same time he was able to give a fresher image to Bottega Veneta’s signature products, especially the bags. He kept focusing on high craftsmanship techniques and products that can be included in what is now called quiet luxury, a style characterized by the absence of a logo identifying the brand; Daniel Lee managed to accomplish this in a short period of time (he left the helm of the brand at the end of 2021, replaced by Matthieu Blazy, and is now creative director of Burberry), but he still brought to life the expression “New Bottega” because of the different way the brand was perceived and the aura of desirability that Bottega Veneta products acquired. 

Since I am a fashion industry professional (both as a fashion consultant and as a buying agent), I always try to get informed about fashion news and other different currents of thought in the industry, including fashion trends. I have never been one to follow trends at any cost, although I appreciate what certain trends can bring to an individual’s wardrobe in terms of personal style and self-discovery, so I was pleasantly surprised when last month I read an article in the Italian magazine Rivista Studio explaining how the succession of micro-trends in recent years (see Cottage-core, Ballet-core and others) has led most people to want to discover and maintain a personal style. We have thus found ourselves chasing the desire to build a long-term identifying wardrobe, aiming first and foremost for practicality and self-expression. The article quotes Tibi’s creative director Amy Smilovic, who has fully embraced what is called the “Three Words Method”; “choosing a series of looks that you like, looking at their touch-points and drawing up a list of identifying adjectives.” Simply put, what we wear should reflect our personal taste and make us feel comfortable in our own skin.