Louise Trotter stepped onto the Milan runway with intention. Her debut collection as Creative Director for Bottega Veneta didn’t reinvent the DNA of the Italian fashion house following Matthew Blazy’s tenure. Instead, it offered something more delicate, but no less bold: craftsmanship as identity. Trotter’s Bottega Veneta SS26 felt like synergetic between heritage and modern expression.

The shapes spoke of duality. Trotter borrowed masculine oversized coats and structured suiting - high collars, raised shoulders - then softened them with sweeping fringe, fluid dresses, and draped knits.

There’s an elegance in the tension between rigid cut and flowing detail, between leather’s discipline and fringe’s freedom.

One of the standout threads was Intrecciato - that signature woven leather that defines Bottega Veneta. Here, Trotter reimagined it in scaled-up and pared-down forms: woven capes, subtle panels, handbags, even subtle hints in lapels. It wasn’t just decoration - it ruled structure, weight, texture. She used Intrecciato as both material and metaphor: weaving together past and present.

Colours began muted - creams, earthy browns, slate greys - and gradually introduced richer tones: unexpected yellows, deep reds, even flashes of saturated blue. The effect was like sunrise: quiet first, then slowly confident. Oversized totes made underarm companions, softened knots, elegant clogs, utility-tinged but still luxurious.

What Trotter delivered in SS26 is a collection that looks like it’s built to be lived in. Each piece could move quietly through daytime or evening. It’s a debut that doesn’t erase what came before; it leans in, refines, and enhances. Bottega Veneta under Louise Trotter isn’t a reset, so much as a deepening - of craftsmanship, identity, presence. An incredible bonus fact of a woman designing for women.