Mr. Intrecciato Reviews #1: Bottega Veneta

One of my most favourite brands, and also one of the most understated brands, Bottega Veneta was founded by Vittorio and Laura Moltedo in 1966, and was bought over by the Gucci Group in 2001. German designer Tomas Maier currently helms the creative director position of Bottega Veneta.

Bottega Veneta is well known for its hand-woven leather goods, especially its Intrecciato line (which means interwoven in italian. No prize for guessing how this blog name came about), where strips of supple, soft leather are braided together. I have heard from sources saying that Bottega Veneta sources its leather from the same company as Hermes. Many reviews also rank Bottega Veneta's leather one of the best of the luxury brands, alongside Chanel and Hermes. Another brand, Cole Haan, has similar designs as Bottega Veneta, which is the braided leather design. Although I have not personally felt the leather of Cole Haan, I believe that it would not be able to compete with Bottega Veneta's, which is simply smooth to the touch. Here is a picture i found on nitrolicious.com of an employee of Bottega Veneta working on a cabat, if i am not wrong.

Bottega Veneta's products come with no logos, no monograms. Its slogan, "When your own initials are enough" sums it all up. However, recently, some products do come with a logo, in the form of a butterfly, such as on cufflinks, and on a polo T-shirt from Cruise 2009 collection (which, in my opinion, would not be worth the hundreds spent on it, as one can get a similar looking one for much much less at Baleno, which also coincidentally has a polo T-shirt with a butterfly logo, except that it is for females.)

Briefcase from S/S 09

Bottega Veneta's products do not come cheap. They start at about SGD 250+ for a leather bracelet, or a basic wallet at SGD 600+. Canvas Totes start at SGD1300 and up, and leather intrecciato bags start at SGD3500 and up. For some, these may be too high a price to pay for an understated piece of luxury. They may prefer their luxury goods to be loud and flashy, probably in the form of Louis Vuitton's Damier and Monogram canvas, or Gucci's famed double G logo on its canvas, or Guccissima leather. Those who enjoy stealth luxury would enjoy Bottega Veneta, with its brand name only found on the insides of its leather goods.

Duffel from F/W 09

I have been able to only own a Bottega Veneta Basic Wallet with 8 credit card slots due to the high price of its leather goods, hopefully, more will come in the future. :)

Bottega Veneta is an icon of silent, stealth luxury, "When your own intials are enough". :D

Image: men.style.com , Nitrolicious