When Lee was first announced as Bottega Veneta’s creative director, there was talk about how the then-32 year-old designer would handle the house’s hefty heritage of craftsmanship. To his credit, he’s taken it aboard with contemporary aplomb. Pictured here is a dress and matching bag from the brand’s Salon 02 collection that’s actually made from glass beads hand-blown by Venetian craftspeople.

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Part of Lee’s appeal is that he rose from the design studio Celine under the aegis of Phoebe Philo. The (mostly correct) assumption three years ago was that this designer would continue Philo’s spirit of smart, sensual clothing for powerful modern women.

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One of Lee’s earliest innovations was to take the sanctity out of the brand’s famous intrecciato woven leather. Here is a coat from the brand’s Fall Winter 2019 collection that reimagined the visual effect of woven leather, photographed in Female’s September 2019 “New Bohemia” edition.

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Under Lee, Bottega Veneta ditched the traditional way of presenting its collections according to the seasons. Beginning in 2021, the brand came up with a new Salon and Wardrobe concept. The former being directional collections (the rough equivalent of Spring-Summer and Autumn-Winter) and the latter more approachable trans-seasonal lines. These are wood-bead pieces, first shown in Salon 01 (below) and then conceptually fine-tuned in the subsequent Wardrobe 01 collection (above) as more wearable separates.

One of the most enduring new styles that launched under Lee’s tenure is the Cassette woven-leather flap bag. As buzzy as the designs get, luxurious artisanship is still present. To wit: buttery soft lambskin is bonded on the inside to the exterior’s glossy brushed calfskin. That way, this technically unlined bag is still as beautiful on the inside as out.

Cassette leather bag, $3,190, Bottega Veneta

From the moment they first hit the runway, square-toe heels have become a Bottega Veneta signature. They ignited a wave of copy-cats, as well as a revival of strappy sandals in fashion.

Stretch leather heels, $1,520, Bottega Veneta

The moulded rubber Puddle boots were first launched in 2020, an endearingly clunky reinterpretation of classic rain boots. A side note: they’re also extremely comfortable thanks to generously-cushioned insoles. This is one of the newer renditions, in glorious, glittery rubber.

Puddle rubber boots, $1,180, Bottega Veneta

And, of course, who could forget the bag that started it all? The Pouch is perhaps the brand’s greatest success in recent years. There’s been a host of versions made every season. This is a lovely mini rendition in one of this season’s key colours, a shade of turquoise the brand calls ‘Blaster’. While it’s likely the brand will keep the Pouch in its collections after Lee’s departure, it’s really anyone’s bet – which makes it quite worth investing in now.

Mini Pouch leather bag, $2,990, Bottega Veneta

This article originally appeared in Female

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