Bottega Veneta Review | Fashion Week Fall 2013 

Thomas Maier is running a business. His Fall 2013 show for Bottega, a refined collection of wearable, salable, but undeniably interesting clothing, took its cues from '40s style and architectural construction. His penchant for artistic gestures was apparent from the word go, when Raquel Zimmerman opened the show in a black crepe coat festooned with ruffles along the shoulder, but he dialed those impulses back for most of the pieces. Most of them were pure elegance: a strong-shouldered dress in ochre fell into pleats that created a drop-waist effect, while a white shift dripping in blue beading (worn by Joan Smalls) looked as confident as it was sparkly. It's garments like these, that so seamlessly blend art and commerce, that have turned Bottega Veneta into a billion-dollar business. Who can resist them?