Luxury like discretion and uniqueness: this is the corollary that explains the motto of one of the Italian houses at the top of the excellence in luxury worldwide, Bottega Veneta. “When your own initials are enough” it means that there’s no need of logo nor initials to put forward the brand that everyone is wearing but it’s rather our style that is going to be enhanced and sublimated by this brand.
“Luxury is a point of view based on what we hide instead of what we show” claims Tomas Maier, Artistic Director of Bottega Veneta for 16 years. It’s thanks to him if the house is now a reference of luxury around the world. Bottega Veneta was founded in 1966 by Renzo Zengiaro and Michele Taddei: the name, shop of the Veneto region in Italian, recalls the origins of the company, geographic and physical because the word “bottega” defines the artisan shop. And it is as workshop of artisan products that the house was born. In 2001, the brand has been acquired by Kering group that chose Tomas Maier in order to give it a new life. Since then, to the emblematic leather goods collections were added the women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, furniture and armchair, jewellery, sunglasses, fragrances and watches. Always respecting the philosophy of the motto that has its roots in the restraint and subtlety.
It is no coincidence if the brand signature is the intrecciato, a technique of weaving leather identifiable only by those who recognise it. And this remarkable design of woven leather, which can be also reinterpreted in different materials, is the result of an exceptional craftsmanship of the master artisans who pass on their knowledge from one generation to the next. In order to preserve this heritage and keep this tradition, in 2006 the company has created a school of handicraft specialised, la Scuola dei Maestri Pellettieri di Bottega Veneta in Vicenza to train young apprentices. This project has been made thanks to the continuous exchange between the house and the institutions of the Veneto region, that has led to partnerships, in particular with the University of Venice (IUAV, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia).
The essential values of Bottega Veneta are high-quality materials, extraordinary craftsmanship, contemporary 
functionalities and a timeless style. Concepts that we can find in the core models created by Tomas Maier: from the iconic Cabat bag drawn for his first collection to the fabulous Knot minaudière, a revisit of a model of the Seventies to which the designer has added the clasp knot shaped in the famous leather intrecciato. Bottega Veneta, when luxury speaks for itself.
