Designer Daniel Lee is parting ways with Bottega Veneta
Daniel Lee is leaving his role as creative director at Bottega Veneta after a hugely successful three years. His departure was a "joint decision" between the designer and the Italian fashion house, according to a statement released by the brand's parent company, Kering.
The British designer was appointed creative director at Bottega Veneta in July 2018, transforming the brand with his understated, undeniably cool, brand of luxury. In 2019, sales rose 2.2 per cent to nearly $1.4 billion (about £1.05 billion) in 2019 and even managed to keep growing throughout the height of the pandemic and multiple lockdowns in 2020, according to Business of Fashion.
"My time at Bottega Veneta has been an incredible experience," said Lee. "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. Thank you to Francois-Henri Pinault for his support, and for the opportunity to be part of Bottega Veneta’s story."
Prior to his time at Bottega Veneta, Lee worked under Phoebe Philo at Céline, and at Donna Karan. But it was during his time at Bottega that his career really sky-rocketed. Lee picked up four accolades at the 2019 Fashion Awards, including Designer of the Year and Brand of the Year.
Lee succeeded Tomas Maier, who had helmed Bottega for 17 years. While the brand was in a solid position as a respected Italian fashion house with impressive heritage and strong sales within the leather goods market, Lee transformed it into an ‘It’ label at the forefront of fashion – Bottega Veneta’s show became one of the most highly anticipated on the calendar, several of Lee’s designs developed cult-like status (the Pouch bag, the Padded sandals), and there are swarms of fans (more than 874,000) following an Instagram account devoted to this fresh look, entitled ‘New Bottega’.
“I am very grateful to Daniel for having brought his passion and energy to Bottega Veneta," François-Henri Pinault, chairman & CEO of Kering said in a statement. "His singular vision made the house’s heritage relevant for today and put it back to the centre of the fashion scene."
No word yet on Lee's next move, but we're predicting big things. Watch this space...
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