This fall, Bottega Veneta introduces its first fragrance collection under the Creative Direction of Matthieu Blazy. Rooted in house heritage, the collection is inspired by Bottega Veneta’s origin city of Venice, as well as the house’s signature leather weave, the Intrecciato.
Looking to Venice’s long-standing history as a hub of cross-cultural trade and encounter, Blazy designed each of the collection’s five fragrances as a meeting of ingredients from different countries and continents. Just as Venice long bridged influences from North and South, East and West, this olfactory Intrecciato tells a global story, weaving 100% natural origin essences from different corners of the globe into evocative perfumes that captivate the senses and transport the imagination.
Warm as the Mediterranean sun, Colpo di Sole marries the tranquil notes of French Angelica oil with sensual orange blossom absolute from Morocco. Fresh and elegant, Come with Me blends the invigorating citrus of Italian bergamot with the powdery violet of French orris butter. Acqua Sale merges woody labdanum absolute from Spain with Macedonian juniper oil to evoke the enveloping scent of saltwater on skin. Sophisticated and seductive, Déjà Minuit weaves geranium from Madagascar with the spice of Guatemalan cardamom. Alchemie, meanwhile, marries Brazilian pink pepper with precious myrrh from Somalia in an encounter of exhilarating opulence.
Since his appointment as Creative Director, Blazy has emphasized the primacy of touch to Bottega Veneta — both in the tactile materiality of its designs and in the handmade craft that constitutes the brand’s unique savoir-faire. In that same spirit, each of these five fragrances reveal their full subtlety and depth in contact with the wearer’s skin. It is as the wearer moves through the world, the scent in motion with them, that each fragrance reveals itself fully, weaving its rich and delicate notes with their own intimate story.
True to this same guiding ethos, Blazy’s fragrance collection also elevates the bottle to an exceptional level of craft and tactile pleasure. This is a design that is not only a container of perfume, but also a further embodiment of the Veneto region, and of the House’s unique artisanal heritage.
Fluid and undulating, the translucent glass bottle nods to the lagoon environment of Venice, as well as the supple leather shapes that first distinguished Bottega Veneta design. Rippling like water, this organic form is a smooth, sensual presence in the hand, once again emphasizing the experience of touch as much as smell.
Thanks to an innovative and tailor-made process, the design recreates the aesthetic of mouth- blown glass with distinct air bubbles to each bottle. This innovative effect pays tribute to the centuries-long tradition of Murano glassblowing — a craft most recently integrated into Blazy’s Winter 24 show space. Typically considered imperfections, Blazy here makes a feature of the air bubbles, creating a series of individually unique bottles.
The bottle sits on a base in green Verde Saint Denis marble — the same marble that has characterized Blazy’s store designs. While literally raising the bottle beyond its function, this miniature plinth also evokes the marble walls, flooring, and facades of Venetian architecture.
In a playful inversion of this same architecture, the bottle’s sculptural wooden cap nods to the foundations of Venetian palazzos which raise their marmoreal mirages from the water on deep wooden stilts. The cap palette, with a distinct colour or shade for each fragrance, takes its cue from modern Venetian design and architecture — as does the engraved metallic ring around the bottle cap. Intended as an elevated object for life, the bottle is refillable, with 0% plastic and sustainable materials in every component of the design.
Bottega Veneta
Shop 205-208, 2/F