Today the British designer Daniel Lee became the new creative director for the Bottega Veneta brand. The appointment follows the departure of Tomas Maier, who occupied the role for 17 years.
According to a 2018 Elle report, Lee comes from Céline, where he joined Céline in 2012. His most recent title was director of ready-to-wear under Phoebe Philo. Lee also held positions at Maison Margiela, Balenciaga and Donna Karan.
According to a 2018 Business of Fashion report, Céline alumnus Lee could fill that gap by bringing in a similar aesthetic vision to Bottega Veneta, which shares its minimalist luxury DNA. (Lee is the latest employee from Philo’s Céline to be scooped up by other houses. Earlier this year, the brand lost ready-to-wear design director Michael Rider, who joined Ralph Lauren as senior vice president and creative director of the women’s Polo business.)
However, Luca Solca, head of luxury goods at Exane BNP Paribas, noted: “Although Celine and Bottega Veneta are related as they both play in the higher end of the luxury market, Lee was head of ready-to-wear, not leather goods. Bottega Veneta needs a new chapter in leather goods, which accounts for 85 percent of revenues.”
“I’m both honored and excited to continue the legacy that has been created at Bottega Veneta over the last five decades,” Lee said in a press release. “Maintaining the ingrained codes of the House, craftsmanship, quality and sophistication, I look forward to evolving what has gone before, while contributing a new perspective and modernity.”
Lee’s new role marks an effort to increase revenue growth which, according to a 2018 Business of Fashion report. “Daniel Lee has a deep understanding of the House’s current challenges both in terms of creation and development,” said Claus Dietrich Lahrs, CEO of Bottega Veneta. “He will bring to Bottega Veneta a new and distinctive creative language that will continue building the House’s success based on the ambitious foundations already developed over recent years.” The Italian brand is gunning for the American consumer, which held their most recent runway show in New York City.
