Bottega Veneta Does Sophisticated Milanese Style With a Playful Twist

“What would the kid in you want?” Creative Director Matthieu Blazy questioned in the show notes for the Bottega Veneta spring/summer 2025 collection. On the runway, he offered an answer with inspiration drawing from coming-of-age stories, the power of playfulness, and a sense of kids playing dress-up as adults. He also put it into words. “The power of wow!” as he describes it. Imagination! Creativity! The joy of discovery! Blazy wanted to feel this pull in fashion once again, and brought that to the stage for Bottega Veneta’s latest collection.

From the moment guests walked into the show venue, this was on full display as showgoers were greeted by rows of animal bean bag chairs throughout the venue that imparted a sense of youthful joy. The idea of childlike fascination led Blazy to add playful elements to the collection, including animal motifs like fish stoles and lapin lapels, fringed headpieces, and supermarket bags. But he also showcased a very grown-up wardrobe with soft, relaxed silhouettes and powerful suiting—clothes people want in their closets immediately—that made it a standout collection at Milan Fashion Week. Ahead, more on the spring/summer 2025 Bottega Veneta show, from the celebrity-packed front row to new bag launches to the sophisticated power dressing that is set to shape style in 2025.

The Playful Venue and Celebrity-Packed Front Row

Rather than rows of benches or four-legged chairs which are standard at most runway shows, guests walked into a room filled with pillowy bean bags. Each, taking the form of an animal—a panda, fox, elephant, dinosaur, cat, and more—which were inspired by the iconic Sacco chair created in 1968. Some seat assignments were seemingly arbitrary, while others spoke to some element of the person whose name card sat on the chair. Kendall Jenner, a passionate equestrian, on a horse. Ebon Moss-Bachrach of The Bear, on a bear. Jacob Elordi, a new face of the brand pictured in a recent campaign holding his hands above his head like rabbit ears, on a bunny. The lounge chairs were commissioned by Matthieu Blazy and immediately added a tone of childlike levity to the room before the show even began, as well as a literal new perspective. “They sit low to the ground, so you have a different perspective when you sit on them—they are both joyful and comfortable!” Blazy shared in the show notes. “I hope this sense of wonder continues every time people come across them.”

A Grown-Up Wardrobe

The childlike element from the set also translated to the clothes. Oversize silhouettes and slightly off-kilter elements like crinkles, creases, and misaligned buttons evoke the idea of a kid playing dress-up in their parents’ closet. While childlike wonder may have been a cornerstone of the show inspiration, though, when you peel away the youthful elements like fluffy bunny ear shoes and frog brooches, what remains is a grown-up wardrobe that is pure sophistication.

Season after season, Blazy puts his stamp on sophisticated style that shapes what we all want to wear for the upcoming season (and I would argue immediately) and this collection does just that. It’s a new, soft take on power dressing that Blazy continues to build upon. In one look, a crinkled black midi dress is paired with pumps and Baroque pearls, with a top-handle bag that has a trench coat draped over it. In another, a too-big skirt blazer and pencil skirt finished with a tassel. Then, a pleated A-line skirt styled with an artfully draped top. Followed by that, a white skirt set dip-dyed in burnt orange with the sleeves rolled up and the buttons off-kilter. The looks are entirely sophisticated and elevated, but still maintain a sense of youthful individuality, joy, and carefree energy.

The 2025 Bags to Know

If you ask nearly any fashion person the bag they wear most, or the bag that is currently topping their shopping list, a style from Bottega Veneta is likely sitting at the top. The Andiamo has been a best-seller since its launch in the house’s iconic woven interciato, and it continues to be released in new iterations. For fall 2024, a smooth leather style dropped, while in the latest collection we saw a preview for the upcoming alligator-embossed version finish with a top handle. The faux exotic leather was also spotted on the Lauren 1980 clutch, a bag originally introduced in the ‘80s (and notably worn by Lauren Hutton in Gigolo) that was just relaunched and is primed to be a hero buy. Other noteworthy launches include a yet-to-be-named foldover envelope shoulder bag finished with a U-shaped metal hardware, often held as a clutch.