Bottega Veneta and The Age of Influencer

[jeune_fille]

Hi Ladies,

I feel like this news is worth discussing. To most of us, this is very obvious. That is, the sudden popularity of the brand are mainly due to the Influencers receiving free bags and shoes. What do you think?

Personally, I would feel really bothered that the brand I have come to embrace is suddenly following trends. The brand was used to be resilient to the impermanence in fashion and that was one of the reason I got attracted to it. It used to be really unique. There was this one article that BV was able to trademark its weaving, but now we almost don't see it anymore. I will still continue to check the brand from time to time but my money won't be in it.

https://fashionista.com/2019/09/bottega-veneta-influencer-marketing-gifting

 

[lara0112]

I bought a BV bag around 15 or so years ago, with the typical weaving. It was not for me, so I sold it again. however, in general it was very understated and not on many people's radar and no brand can sustain this in this day and age. if they had shared their clutch with all the random celebrities under the sun, it would be no different to influencers. so I personally don't really care because I find all of these extreme media pushes rather annoying, regardless whether it is celebrities, marketing through launches and ads, or influencers

 

[Bagcoolie]

Hi Ladies,

I feel like this news is worth discussing. To most of us, this is very obvious. That is, the sudden popularity of the brand are mainly due to the Influencers receiving free bags and shoes. What do you think?

Personally, I would feel really bothered that the brand I have come to embrace is suddenly following trends. The brand was used to be resilient to the impermanence in fashion and that was one of the reason I got attracted to it. It used to be really unique. There was this one article that BV was able to trademark its weaving, but now we almost don't see it anymore. I will still continue to check the brand from time to time but my money won't be in it.

https://fashionista.com/2019/09/bottega-veneta-influencer-marketing-gifting

Thanks so much for sharing! I am bothered by such act as well and it just goes to say that without such gifting, no one would rave about the new BV... like a number of TPFers, I am thankful for the presence of resale market.

 

[Miss World]

Hi Ladies,

I feel like this news is worth discussing. To most of us, this is very obvious. That is, the sudden popularity of the brand are mainly due to the Influencers receiving free bags and shoes. What do you think?

Personally, I would feel really bothered that the brand I have come to embrace is suddenly following trends. The brand was used to be resilient to the impermanence in fashion and that was one of the reason I got attracted to it. It used to be really unique. There was this one article that BV was able to trademark its weaving, but now we almost don't see it anymore. I will still continue to check the brand from time to time but my money won't be in it.

https://fashionista.com/2019/09/bottega-veneta-influencer-marketing-gifting

When a real celebrity wears a design, say like Rihanna i do get drawn in and fall in love with an item. But when i see it on 'influencers' especially on Instagram it really is a turn off for me. Every single blogger and influencer on Instagram has a BV bag that has clearly been gifted to them for free and their style all looks the same. Everyone is morphing into everyone else on Instagram, kinda tired of it.
I like old BV but i do like some of the new designs of BV but the mass 'trend' is turning me off a bit.

 

[Passerine123]

Interesting discussion. I fell in love with the weave years ago and still admire it. I wish DL would think about doing fresher things with the weave that would still be attractive to the BV base. It's why I enjoy shopping at Jennifer Tattanelli's store in Florence, she does something very similar, but the bags also reflect her own point of view.
https://jennifertattanelli.it/collections/women-handbags
(what's shown on her website is just a small sampling, she has far more designs in her store and some are not so close to traditional BV bags)

 

[jeune_fille]

I bought a BV bag around 15 or so years ago, with the typical weaving. It was not for me, so I sold it again. however, in general it was very understated and not on many people's radar and no brand can sustain this in this day and age. if they had shared their clutch with all the random celebrities under the sun, it would be no different to influencers. so I personally don't really care because I find all of these extreme media pushes rather annoying, regardless whether it is celebrities, marketing through launches and ads, or influencers

I agree! At this point, there's really no difference between promoting via celebrities or influencers since social media had become a game changer. However, before the proliferation of social media, celebrity had always served as ambassador of the brand. I have this theory that they are being briefed on what the brand is about and they were familiar with the brand prior to being an ambassador. Case in point, Angelina Jolie/Madonna for Louis Vuitton. Blake Lively for Chanel.

Furthermore, I've always believed that during TM's era, Bottega items were never given as gifts (probably the closest thing to a promotion is he let them borrow the items). Hence, he maintained the integrity of the brand as stealth and understated luxury.

What bothers me is this. Are the influencers aware of the brand? do they even love it? Do they know its history? Are they just in there for promotion and will throw the items after?

 

[V0N1B2]

Are they just in there for promotion and will throw the items after?

Well, that certainly explains the sudden proliferation of Pouches on eBay.
I've never seen so many "can't keep in stock" bags popping up on resale sites at such deep discounts as I have with this latest supposed It Bag.

 

[muchstuff]

Well, that certainly explains the sudden proliferation of Pouches on eBay.
I've never seen so many "can't keep in stock" bags popping up on resale sites at such deep discounts as I have with this latest supposed It Bag.

I just did a perusal of my daily sites and wow, they're everywhere...cassette bag's starting to show up too. A few Arcos but mostly the pouch so yeah, I'd agree that it looks like there were a ton of freebies handed out.

 

[lara0112]

What bothers me is this. Are the influencers aware of the brand? do they even love it? Do they know its history? Are they just in there for promotion and will throw the items after?

it really depends I would say - if the brands gift the influencer directly, they make sure that those are people that understand the industry, the brand, match the style etc. I believe that influencers have to exert a lot more effort than celebs since a big part of their job is engagement and it has to be authentic (nowadays they cannot get away with pretending they know and care - followers will not have it). so unlike celebs who just wear a bag, influencers have to talk about, live it, really incorporate it into their daily life. however let's agree that not everyone is a brand afficionado,so I doubt that everyone of them knows as much as tPfers about their fave brands (neither do I think that celebs every would know as much)