Some of our TPF members have an extradinary amount of knowledge and details when it comes to the unique weaving (and treatment) processes from Bottega. I thought it would make a wonderful new thread, and maybe, even a reference thread. I am taking some license by collecting some of the weaving descriptions sent to me or posted to start the thread. It would be nice to show samples of the different weaves too.

Crochet - from septembersiren

They actually crochet the leather using 200 meters of leather for the big one and 150 for the small


Mini Crochet

Origami (F/W 2007) - from septembersiren

The origami is created by actually folding the leather into origami pyramids and then hand sewn
quite labor intensive
It does look like they cut the leather to achieve this but that is the empty spaces in between the little pyramids

they are coming out with an origami knot bag for cruise in anome (purple)
that is just too pretty for words .







Honeycomb S/S 2009

The honeycomb design starts with tubes of leather sewn with the seam toward the front. Then the seam is manipulated to the left and right, where it is sewn to the corresponding seam of its neighbor. (jburgh)

Interesting thread.. thanks, Rere...

Bombe is a padded weave. They put a soft foam between the two layers of leather to get that rounded look.

beautiful... thanks for sharing, jburgh!

ReRe - wonderful thread idea!

BV Mosaic

individual paillettes (sp?) sewn into the bag to create a woven look - my favorite of the season

btw these pix are credited to jburgh and i think SSC - apologies if i got that wrong

This Cabat is treated with a tie-dye technique
-Extremely soft & beautiful
-Offered in 3 different sizes: medium, large, uomo
-Prices: $7600, $9500, $9800 usd
-Fetucce are not flat but tubular so the touch is a bit more padded
-Nappa umbria
-Color: cigar, ivory, moro

Cabat Weaving
It is handmade from 70 fettuccine-thin strips of leather, which are intricately woven through tiny slots. This creates a plaited effect, inside and out, which doubles the bag's strength. The technique was invented by Bottega Veneta in the Sixties, when the company was established in Vicenza. Bottega means "a place of work for artisans" and Veneta refers to the Veneto region of eastern Italy, where they are based. The intensive labour that is involved in making each bag - two days' handiwork by two people - restricts production to a maximum of 200 of each style, each season, for worldwide distribution

From Alisonanna - The Tornabuoni collection features vertically twisted fettucce on the handbag body. All handbags in this collection are made of Capretto (goatskin) which gives them a lovely shine and transparency of color.

fettucce is a wide form of fettuccine past

An SA in BH told me that TM is playing with treating leather as if it were fabric so we will see interesting twists and turns on leather.

pix of uluru courtesy of ebay seller designer9822



pix of the black satchel courtesy of our SA in hawaii, bv.luxury@gmail.com

i don't know anything about how these weaves are created, but perhaps someone will weigh in. these were so beautiful....

copper nappa bag and copper grosgrain bag from ss09.

pix courtesy of bv.luxury@gmail.com

Pieds de poule - FW2009/2010

The attention to detail on this weave is amazing - to create the houndstooth effect in nappa. this is something special

Originally Posted by doloresmia

BV Mosaic individual paillettes (sp?) sewn into the bag to create a woven look - my favorite of the season btw these pix are credited to jburgh and i think SSC - apologies if i got that wrong

The BV Mosaico uluru and mineral Veneta photos were mine... but that's fine.

Let me elaborate on the process. As you can see, it is technically not woven but laser-etched with hand-sewn finishes. It's made of two layers of Cervo leather. The base layer forms the general Veneta shape of the bag. A second layer of Cervo leather is adhered to the base. A laser is used to cut the squarish looking pieces that eventually give the "mosaic" effect. Lastly, each diamond-looking piece is sewn by hand. Very labor-intensive.

It's a bag you must seen in person to appreciate. Pictures don't do justice. Comes in uluru red, mineral and elephant for the Veneta... Nero and Truffle in other styles (partial mosaico patterns on the bag).

I call this the "sister" of the BV Mosaico since it employs a similar process though the materials used are very different.

Intrecciato Brise Ayers (F/W '09)

There are 3 layers of materials on this bag. The base of the bag is the signature intrecciato weave. A layer of leather and sheet of acetate is adhered to the layer of woven leather. Next a laser precisely cuts the acetate into small square sequins. The same laser is then used to cut the underlying layer of leather into larger square paillettes. Panels are then hand-finished for the final effect.

Limited edition, only 250 available worldwide.

Any idea how the weavings (black and white) of the Pieds de poule - FW2009/2010 are done?

It's amazing!