First thing’s first: stop calling Daniel Lee’s Bottega Veneta the ‘new Céline’. Should we really replace Phoebe Philo? Phoebe has her irreplaceable style, which is the ideal balance between femininity, minimalism and artistic quirk. Those who have her clothes, lucky you, cherish and wear them. Let’s all hope she will come back to fashion soon – that’s it. On Lee’s note, yes, he ‘grew up’ creatively in her design studio, but I’m sure he must be already tired with all that loud comparing and the Philophiles-generated pressure of being a Céline replacement. Now it’s his Bottega Veneta, and as his debut runway collection proved, this guy has a mind of his own. I’m saying this right away: his collection didn’t completely ‘wow’ me, at some points it was over-complicated. But that’s fine, because every debut has its ups and downs. The designer focused on leather, because Bottega Veneta has always been a leather brand. While the motocross look felt, simply speaking, like too much leather, accessories were the most compelling part of the collection (the shoes in signature Intrecciato weave are so, so good, just like all the heavy boots, geometrical handbags and fringed clutches, of course in leather). A future Bottega Veneta customer should definitely invest in one of those new classics. A sharp injection of modernity was as well brought to clothes. A square neck dress that opened the collection was sensual, but strong, just like the asymmetric knits (they looked extra on guys) and quilted skirts. But then, some of the coats’ shoulders were a bit too bold and kind of conflicted with all this tender, close-to-body feeling. Good things are coming to Bottega Veneta, let’s just all hope the designer will get the time he needs to fully establish his new language for the brand. And don’t mistake him with Philo.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.