As the apex of fashion week sweeps the city, it’s safe to say that Milan is a zoo at the moment: Loro Piana, Prada, Bottega Veneta, oh my! AD has kept a close watch on the latter Italian house ever since creative director Matthieu Blazy replaced Daniel Lee in 2021. Under the French-Belgian designer’s direction, the brand has seeped into oeuvres outside of ready-to-wear, expanding the Bottega Veneta universe into varied visual mediums beyond the leather goods they’re so renowned for. Consider this season a whimsical departure, but also completely true to form: for its spring/summer 2025 show, taking place on September 21, Bottega Veneta announces The Ark, a limited-edition lounge chair collection inspired by Zanotta’s Sacco seat.
The chairs are both true to form and a crucial component of “a joyful world with a sense of wonder, populated by friendly companions that make you smile and say ‘wow,’” Blazy explains. He commissioned the collection after drawing parallels between the beanbag chair’s softness, anti-formalism, and plasticity—all of which are elements characteristic of Bottega Veneta’s signature bags. The Sacco was designed in 1968 by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro—but Blazy’s version renders the seat in animal forms crafted entirely in leather. 15 animals are featured at the Milan show, and will be available in various designs: dog, panda, rabbit, bird, snake, ladybug, chicken, dinosaur, otter, elephant, cat, fox, bear, horse, and whale.
Set design has become crucial to fashion’s world-building—or so it seems for Blazy. For the SS23 show, Bottega Veneta tapped the renowned late Italian furniture designer Gaetano Pesce to create a slick of swirling resin to coat the floors. Four hundred unique Pesce-designed chairs were readied for showgoers to perch on before they were later sold in batches for the year to come. This started an ongoing chair collaboration series for the brand. During the winter 2024 show, Blazy featured adaptations of Le Corbusier’s iconic LC14 Tabouret Cabanon seat. But with the latest collection, Blazy explicitly asks: why should we put away childish things?
The chairs don’t always seem to match up with the clothes on the runway. When Kate Moss wore a white t-shirt and jeans made entirely out of leather for the brand’s SS23 show, the statement didn’t necessarily go hand in hand with the Come Stai? collection’s lacquered smiley face vernacular. But thinking outside the box, which often requires a bit of mental unbuttoning, can lead to the best ideas around form and craft. This is why The Ark fits into the same world as Pesce’s resin floors, and Kate Moss in not-denim denim. It’s all a bit whimsical, and different, and a natural part of Blazy’s unique universe.
Limited quantities of The Ark will be available on the Bottega Veneta website on Sunday, September 22. Following through with the biblical reference, there will be just two of each animal. The Ark will next be available at Design Miami in December, where the light gray rabbit and white chicken will be sold exclusively. Over the next six months, the collection will continue to be sold in small numbers.