“I feel like I’m in a candy store,” Louise Trotter told the press backstage. Since her appointment at Bottega Veneta last December, Trotter stood as the only woman to land a top creative spot during a massive year of designer reshuffling—until Rachel Scott took over Proenza Schouler last month, bringing the count to two.
Trotter recently mentioned to Vogue that she wants her success to be about her talent and identity rather than her gender. That’s a fair point, but there was still something deeply satisfying about seeing her debut tonight. She’s definitely put in the work, climbing the ranks in New York, London, and Paris—most recently at Lacoste and Carven—for far longer than many of her male peers.
The collection felt like she’s truly enjoying her new role, though it didn’t look like a kid in a candy shop; it looked like a confident adult who knows exactly how high the stakes are. Bottega Veneta is all about craftsmanship, and Trotter leaned into that. She wove an intrecciato coat to mimic snake scales, used razor-thin leather strips for a dramatic floor-length cape, and added feathers to a denim-blue robe coat so it practically floated.
Movement was everywhere, from the trailing hem of a tiered leather skirt to the fringe detailing on a micro-pleated dress. The real showstoppers, however, were the “sweaters” in vibrant orange, red, and silver-blue that shimmered under the runway lights. Surprisingly, they were made of recycled fiberglass. “It feels like fur and moves like grass,” Trotter explained, noting how they were tailored to sit perfectly on the shoulder. Matching skirts followed in swirling ombré tones.
Her tailoring leaned toward the oversized, featuring massive shoulders, heavy volumes, and trousers long enough to tuck into shoe straps. At times, the proportions felt like they could have used a bit of scaling down. On the flip side, parachute silk dresses with falling shoulder straps felt beautifully light, using internal structures to highlight the hips while floating away from the body.
When it came to the bags, Trotter looked back to the house’s history, specifically the clutch Lauren Hutton made famous in American Gigolo. Hutton herself was watching from the front row, and the oversized version of that clutch on the runway looked just as timeless as she does. All in all, a very promising start.
