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MILAN, Italy — All the working women who attended the Bottega Veneta show on Saturday morning must have been sighing in delight, as they watched designer Tomas Maier's collection unfold. This collection was for them. It embraced femininity and functionality in a way that was both mature and measured in its use of asymmetrical geometric patterns.
Maier has been on quite an intense exploration of textile manipulation over the past few seasons, but with this show that path took a bit of a back seat. In its stead the designer used an energetic juxtaposition of colour for a great graphic effect. Smartly incorporating it to underline the inherent movement of his fabrics when the models were in motion, meaning that all of the dresses and skirt/sweater combos (there was not a pair of trousers to be seen) had very precise and tailored construction at their core. This could have come off as slightly severe if not for Maier’s inclusion of those geometric motifs.
The best example of this insightful concept was in the pleat work of his skirts. The designer employed a contrasting colour (often black) that would only break through as the models walked the runway. Also strong were the abstract leather shapes he inserted into the bodice of a dress, and the way Maier brought the familiar play between matte and shine fabrics to a new level, by layering in a textural element onto just the satin.
When the designer began the cocktail dress phase of his collection he transformed the linear look of his daywear into a more dramatic plisse interpretation. The shift gave his patterns a three-dimensionality, that reinterpreted his study of movement in a new and equally energetic way.
This was a self-assured collection by Maier. Poised and completely at ease with its position of strength. Much like the sophisticated women who were sitting in his front row.
