Tomas gets raving reviews for this collection
Bottega Veneta / Fall 2012 RTW by Sarah Mower
Fashion people live for the rare occasions when a show is so good it sends an involuntary wave of emotion through their veins. At Bottega Veneta, that kind of unfakeable visceral reaction had spectators sitting forward in their seats as Tomas Maier began to send out women dressed in dark, perfectly tailored coats and suits, walking easily in flat riding boots, with gloves, pearl earrings, and a slash of burgundy lipstick to finish. And the viewers were feeling what? A kind of awed sensation of identification with that woman—someone adult, chic, and subtly powerful, emanating a deep sense of self. It was like the opening frames of a very good movie, where you’re so magnetized by a personality on screen that a kind of transference takes place: You’re wanting to be her, have her aplomb, wear her clothes, walk in her shoes.
The women kept coming, from both directions, in a fast-paced sequence crackling with energy. A peacoat, a molded-shoulder tunic and sweater were styled with big rock-crystal brooches and cropped pants in a top-to-toe look brilliantly balanced between decorativeness and pragmatic daywear. Numerous dresses went past: some in scumbled, arty prints, with sequins speckling textured embroidery in the neckline; one in beige crepe, seamed clean to the body and sliced down to a silver-bead brooch; one in velvet with a fitted bodice and a skirt of feathery layered chiffon. Still others had an air of forties Hollywood about them—one in a purplish pink with paillettes scattered at the shoulder and waist, the other in a flocked velvet leaf pattern, growing up and over nude tulle. And that’s before we expend more words describing the sinuous long dresses. One adjective will do for them: superb.
But Maier’s achievement here is the way he’s defined a glamour that isn’t entirely the stuff of unattainable fantasy. Of course, Bottega Veneta’s clothes, jewelry, and accessories are at the top of the luxury tree—and justifiably so, considering the way they’re made. But, crucially, his way of doing expensive is not offensive. That’s because his vision of a woman has a reality and relevance anyone will recognize, whether we can buy it or not. Maeir isn’t interested in tottering bourgeoisies living in a hermetic world of privilege. His view goes beyond clothes to reach a truth about women today. And that’s what touched the heart.
vogue.com
picture from gobackstage