Bottega Veneta by Daniel Lee

Last June, Bottega Veneta announced it had found its new creative director: the Kering-operated luxury brand had chosen Daniel Lee, a Central Saint Martins trained designer who honed his craft at Phoebe Philo's Céline ateliers in Paris, to take the reins following Tomas Meier's 17-year tenure. A mere three months into the job, Lee made his Bottega Veneta debut last week with a mens- and womenswear Pre-Fall 2019 collection.

When Michele Taddei and Renzo Zengiaro established their brand in 1966, Bottega Veneta first specialised in intricately worked leather goods; the duo's Vicenza-based artisans mastered new ways to knot, twist, stitch and weave prestige materials. A selection of the brand's archival techniques found their way into Lee's first collection: the 32 years old English designer magnified Bottega Veneta's emblematic basket-like Intrecciato motif, creating supersized totes and boxy clutch bags.

Elsewhere, the surface of leather skirts was worked with a new technique using lasers to achieve a cushiony quilted matelassé effect. Lee sought to define a modern-day Bottega Veneta wardrobe; inspiration came in the guise of Monica Vitti's on- and off screen get-ups and the tailored elegance he spotted on the streets in his new hometown Milan.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Sticking to a muted colour palette – warm camels, black and clean whites matched with occasional green and deep orange jewel-tones – Lee designed silk-scarf dresses worn underneath leather A-line dresses, high-necked shearling chubby jackets and tailored coats with exaggerated silk cuffs mirroring the coat's lining.

Lee's menswear strikes a more casual note: the sportswear-oriented counterpoint to his bon chic bon genre womenswear collection includes leather shorts with workwear-infused pockets and tab detailing, zipped blousons and Great coats worn atop hooded sweaters, all matched with many-laced trainers and hardwearing nylon bags.