Born in Paris, graduated from La Cambre in Brussels, and now in Milan, Creative Director Matthieu Blazy is no stranger to dislocation. In his newest collection, Blazy aims to celebrate the many inspirations that come from travel. Travel allows for a boundless imagination and a thirst for creation thanks to its mutable nature. Bottega Veneta’s Summer 2024 collection shows the transformation, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, and from the man-made to the primal and natural.

In the beginning, models wear simple silhouettes—tailored pants and blazers, T-shirts, bodysuits, and strong-shouldered trench coats—yet, as the show progresses, the clothes begin to shed, alluding to this idea of ‘getting changed,’ as though the clothes are being stuffed into the oversized, basket-woven bags and duffels the models carry. There is a blend created between the business-like and the vacation-like, sort of like a merging of dreams and reality. From the commuter on a train headed to work to the island hopper across the world, the collection aims to bring them both into coexistence. 

Blazy incorporates leather newspapers morphed into Foulard bags, oversized raffia woven purses, rope shoes, and ceramic intrecciato Sardine bags. Dresses of all kinds are presented on the runway, from shell dresses to cactus dresses. There is a blend of culture and archetype, making the collection feel nomadic, neither belonging to here nor there. It is simply dressing without boundaries.

“An Odyssey: a journey that is both free and hopeful. A connection to who you once were, who you would like to be and where you want to go. The odyssey is both external and internal, physical and through the imagination. It is a journey of transformation and escape.”

Matthieu Blazy

Bottega’s new collection explores the fluidity of culture and identity, and instead offers the opportunity to be whoever and whatever you would like to be. It allows you to let your mind run wild, whether it be real or imaginary, through clothing.