Inside the giant hangar-like former factory, dimly lit ahead of last night’s Bottega Veneta show in Milan, were 460 plush animal-themed beanbag cushions. Sixty different animals, including rabbits, otters, snakes, dinosaurs, foxes, horses and whales, were silently scattered across the plush, utopian cushions covered in soft leather.
It was shocking to see something so cartoonish and cute placed around during fashion week, but because the chairs are Bottega Veneta it works on another level – and it also felt a little sinister.
In the dark, industrial setting, the chairs appeared as shadowy shapes, given beast characteristics and stories by children peeking out from under their duvets in the middle of the night. But the innate fun of the chairs easily overcame any fears. It was quite magical to see hundreds of anthropomorphic chairs staring ahead, waiting for the show to start. A variety of press and VIPs (including Julianne Moore and Jacob Elordi) filed in and sunk into the animal beanbags. Seeing adults sprawled out on these ridiculously chic seats added to the surreal atmosphere.
This limited edition lounge chair collection is aptly named “The Ark.” It is Creative Director Mathieu Brazy’s whimsical rendition of Zanotta’s Sacco chair, designed in 1968 by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro. The chair epitomizes the radical movement of that year, one that would come to define and epitomize the decade that followed. An icon of Italian design, Sacco is housed in the permanent collections of MoMa, the Museum of Decorative Arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Triennale, located just across the street from the Spring/Summer 2025 show.
When the three original designers presented Zanotta with their prototype (which in its early stages resembled a clear garbage bag filled with blocks of polystyrene), they explained their vision compellingly: “We thought of old mattresses stuffed with chestnut leaves, widely used by peasants. You take a bag, you stuff it with leaves or similar material, and it changes shape to fit your body.”
A very limited selection of Brazy’s animal-inspired saccos are currently available for purchase on Bottega Veneta’s website, with many more versions set to emerge from hibernation over the next six months. Fittingly, within the traditional constraints of the Biblical Ark guest list, only two of each animal will be made.
The light grey rabbit and white chicken will be available exclusively at Design Miami, which runs in conjunction with Art Basel Miami Beach in December. “They sit low to the ground,” Blasey explained in a statement, “so you have a different view when you sit down.”
The back of each chair was fitted with a subtle handle made from the house’s signature woven intrecciato leather. At Bottega Veneta, Brazy ushered in an era when great chairs were as much a brand code as intrecciato. It must have seemed like a silly idea at first – chairs at fashion shows were always just temporary bleachers that ended up working just fine – but Brazy saw a need and jumped at it with aplomb.
Seating has been a mainstay of his work at Bottega Veneta since he joined the company, and “The Ark” is the perfect fit for his “sit now, buy now” shows. Previously, Blasey has collaborated creatively with design giants such as Gaetano Pesce and Le Corbusier.
Bottega Veneta is no stranger to making coveted luxury chairs these days, but for this show they managed the ingenious feat of putting the show seating in direct dialogue with the theme of the collection. It must have been a production nightmare for the Italian brand, logistically confusing and complicated, and timing-wise bringing all these elements together. But the effort paid off. It’s rare that a fashion show can channel the energy of performance art, and the scenography certainly helped convey that chill.
Childhood proved a fascinating theme for the clothes, with models wearing outfits with a pant leg peeking out from under their skirts. The proportions and silhouettes were just the perfect amount of skewed and oversized without coming off as clownish. Some blazers hung down to the knees. Behind them were kids playing dress up, trying on their parents’ clothes and trying on other personas. It was all very cool, a subtle, tastefully eccentricity that refined chaos.
“Can there be strength in sweetness?” asks Blazy. “What would the child in you want? I wanted to feel again the primal allure of fashion, the yearning for adulthood.” Pull up a chair, sit back and revisit a happier time in your life.