Bottega Veneta And The Ballet Poster Girl

Bottega Veneta’s The Pouch bag and Stretch Sandals have officially been named 2019’s most-wanted products, but Daniel Lee’s outerwear is swiftly rising up the fashion ranks too as the weather cools. Francesca Hayward, who joined HRH The Duchess of Sussex’s Forces for Change line-up in Vogue’s September issue, enrobed herself in the brand’s lustrous padded leather coat at the London premiere of Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words.

Reinterpreting Bottega Veneta’s signature intrecciato leather in cushioned proportions has been a part of Daniel Lee’s lexicon since he took the creative reins at the house in June 2018. The soft, puffy leather outerwear, which retails for £6,475, appeared twice on the autumn/winter 2019 runway in black and aubergine iterations that were both paired with Storm Trooper boots. Hayward shrugged hers over a ruched sheer black midi-dress with silk slip underneath, and offset the quilted silhouette with bonus Bottega accessories – square-toe leather and calf-hair pumps and the Pyramid bag.

“With a little bit of thinking you can do so much with the weave,” Lee told Vogue’s Sarah Harris about supersizing Bottega Veneta’s famed intrecciato. “I liked the idea of enlarging it because I like things that are bold and quite direct. I like things that are straightforward.” The creative director’s message is being heard loud and clear, and now his directional craftsmanship has a new poster girl in the Royal Ballet’s principal dancer.