Matthieu Blazy has graduated Bottega Veneta from the hysteria of Daniel Lee, framing a fashion house that is both beautiful and unexpected, quiet yet influential. It’s a feat that should not go unnoticed in a time in which our collective desires pulsate and bore at the same intergalactic speed. As in his main collections, Blazy’s just-debuted Resort 2024 is exquisite, almost unnecessarily so, and was inspired by a recent trip to his parents’ home in Paris. It’s a pit stop on the fashion calendar that most designers delegate to auto-pilot or their studio subordinates—historically pre-collections have been for the clients, not the creatives—but Blazy’s reveals a continued focus on craft, chance, and surprise. There are the sweatpants that are not actually sweatpants but printed leather. (They’re so convincingly real that when ASAP Rocky wore them last week, one TMZ paparazzo tried to chase the rapper down to get a better look at them and ended up vomiting.) There are vivacious, vintage prints that are difficult to not smile at, and delightful checkers as well as a super-sized andiamo bag in bubble gum pink and the house’s fashion-famous white tank now in chic, soapy neutral. For once, the ties may take part of the cake—one obsidian, “ostrich” accessory made of goat leather is particularly exceptional—but like the actual confection, one must touch, feel, and taste the collection to really get it.
Joshua Glass is the founder and editor-in-chief of Family Style.