Bottega Veneta Puts Playfulness First at Milan Fashion Week

Matthieu Blazy’s spring 2025 Bottega Veneta show had a dreamy sense of childlike wonder from the very start. In place of the usual cramped benches was an array of animal bean bag chairs: foxes, penguins, and ladybugs for guests such as Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, Jacob Elordi, and Jools Lebron of “demure” fame. The animals were created by Italian design firm Sacco Zanato, giving new life to its countercultural 1968 icon.

The animal pillow chairs were meant to evoke the moment in E.T. when Elliot opens the closet, missing the extraterrestrial visitor among his endless array of stuffed animals. Guests were invited to revisit that world, taking on the sweet feeling of freedom and exploration, which seems to fall in sharp contrast to the pressures of the fashion industry. “This is about the power of sincerity over strategy,” Blazy said.

What did the idea look like in practice? Silhouettes that evoked a child trying on their parents’ clothes, for one. The opening tailored looks were oversize in exquisitely sophisticated grays and reds. Exaggerated suiting was given surreal edits—a pair of trousers cut below the knee on one side and past the ankle on the other. Likewise, a deep red jumpsuit with subtle striping had a wrap skirt on one side, a pant leg on the parallel.

It’s clear the designer is experimenting with size and construction in a beautifully fresh manner. A gorgeous cream leather vest was elongated to elegant effect, while a pale bomber came with an Intrecciato leather collar, both extra large for impact. Many pieces were not what they seemed: what looked like stonewashed denim was really merino wool woven into jacquards, very much tailored. The disheveled became the elegant. The show was full of graceful, curious surprises.

The animals appeared on the clothes, as well. Bunnies popped up on leather t-shirts and frogs wrapped around the heel of a shoe. Perhaps the strongest looks of the intoxicating collection were the leather garments, like a curving, all-leather paillette evening dress. The collection was charmingly hopeful and really, a stunning exploration of craftsmanship—one that injected much-needed playfulness into a moment when many are simply tired.