In a very un-Milanese move, the guests at the Bottega Veneta show were sitting on beanbags. But these weren’t the old Argos beanbags you had in your university bedroom, the Bottega beanbags were crafted out of nappa leather and came in the form of a whole menagerie of animals. Horses, chickens, rabbits and foxes lined the runway and we have it on good authority that Jacob Elordi watched the Bottega show sitting on a rabbit and Julianne Moore was deep in the belly of a bear.

Matthieu Blazy was clearly on top form, naming his SS25 show, simply, Wow!. Throughout the show notes, there was a repeated emphasis on characters over clothing. These weren’t just outfits, they were real people who we saw walking the runway – “the Italian industrialist”; “the businessman drops his daughter at school, her pink rucksack on his back”; “a chic Milanese is in the supermarket”.

Apart from just the beanbags, there were animals all over the collection. Bunny rabbit belts, frog brooches and snakeskin skirts. And Blazy also worked his alchemy with many outfits that looked like ruffled and creased fabrics but were actually entirely leather. 

Naturally, as with any new Bottega collection, many eyes were on the bags. But none of us were expecting Blazy to come out with plastic shopping bags, which also featured rabbits, in a pastiche of cornershop branding. Several new classically Bottega rattan leather bags and totes made an appearance, with classics like the Andiamo now featuring a styling new handle.