Less than a week after it was announced that Daniel Lee would be stepping down from his role as creative director of Bottega Veneta, his successor has been revealed.
Matthieu Blazy will take over as creative director of the Kering-owned fashion brand with immediate effect.
Born in Paris in 1984, Blazy is a graduate of La Cambre in Brussels. He started his fashion career as men’s designer for Raf Simons, before joining Maison Martin Margiela to design the Artisanal line and women’s ready-to-wear. In 2014, he became senior designer at Celine, before rejoining Raf Simons at Calvin Klein from 2016 to 2019. He joined Bottega Veneta in 2020 as ready-to-wear design director and will now assume the top job at the Italian fashion house.
Blazy is a French and Belgian national, and lives between Antwerp and Milan.
“Matthieu Blazy is an extraordinarily talented individual, whom I am proud and excited to entrust with the creative helm of our luxury house,” says Leo Rongone, the brand's chief executive.
“Bottega Veneta has always been equated with signature craftsmanship and distinctive creativity. Matthieu’s appointment will further enhance the modern relevance of our brand and accelerate our growth, while preserving the values that are at the core of Bottega Veneta.”
Blazy will present his first collection for Bottega Veneta in February 2022. “The very solid foundations, specific codes and unique identity of Bottega Veneta enable us to nurture great ambitions for the future of this luxury house,” says Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive of Kering. “I am confident that Matthieu Blazy’s wealth of experience and broad cultural background will allow him to bring his creative impetus to the task of carrying on the legacy of Bottega Veneta."
It was announced last week that Lee would be leaving the Italian brand by "mutual agreement”. He was appointed creative director in July 2018 and during his tenure infused the brand with a newer, more youthful energy. He famously reworked the house’s signature woven intrecciato pattern, enlarging it to huge proportions, padding it out and turning it into soft slouchy bags and even backless mules.
Under him, the house shifted focus from its heritage of discreet Italian classical elegance, to something far more colourful and less structured. His reimagining drove an increase in sales in 2019 of 2.2 per cent, to nearly €1.2 billion ($1.37bn), according to Business of Fashion.
"I am grateful to have worked with an exceptional and talented team and I am forever thankful to everyone who was part of creating our vision,” Lee said on his departure. “Thank you to Francois-Henri Pinault for his support, and for the opportunity to be part of Bottega Veneta’s story.”
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
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Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
