Taking over Bottega Veneta’s via Montenapoleone boutique in Milan from now until April 23 is the presentation “Vieni a Vedere” (“Come and See”) with the esteemed artist Gaetano Pesce. Following Pesce’s recent collaboration with the brand—an installation of seating for the maison’s Summer 2023 runway show—the pair have continued their partnership, transforming the retail space into an encompassing grotto, where visitors will find the artist’s special edition My Dear Mountains and My Dear Prairies handbags on view.
“This is my first design of a bag and it is figurative—two mountains with a sunrise or a sunset behind. I wanted a bag with an optimistic view,” said Pesce. “There is a capacity to realize anything at Bottega Veneta and this bag opens up a way to express future design. The design of the future has to be figurative and it has to communicate—such an object has to tell a story.”
Installation view, “Vieni a Videre” by Gaetano Pesce, courtesy of Bottega Veneta.
Realized with the expertise of Bottega Veneta’s ateliers, the bags in question employ the artist’s outside-the-box methodology for the duo of two extremely limited-edition handbags (15 pieces for the My Dear Mountains and just three of the My Dear Prairies style). Pesce’s designs have pulled imagery from his childhood near the mountains in Este, Italy, and his life today in America, combining his artistic signature with that of the fashion house.
The grasses of the prairies have been imagined as a slouched shape with a long shoulder strap, made from a shagged surface of calf and lamb leathers in seven shades of green, which have been artfully crocheted like a field of grass. Meanwhile, the house’s iconic woven leather Intrecciato is the basis for Pesce’s mountainous exploration. Carefully painted to mimic the artist’s referential watercolor, the green of the mountain’s peak at the clasp, where lies a red rising sun, met by a strap with tiny leather trees standing up like spikes.
Installation view, “Vieni a Videre” by Gaetano Pesce, courtesy of Bottega Veneta.
Installation view, “Vieni a Videre” by Gaetano Pesce, courtesy of Bottega Veneta.
In Milan, both designs can be found at the center of the retail space, which Pesce has encompassed entirely in the exhibition “Vieni a Vedere”. Inviting the public to “come and see,” one must travel through the environment of fabric and resin (also crafted by the artist) before arriving to view the handbags. In celebration of the presentation, upon leaving, each viewer will be given a special gift including a poster drawn by the artist and hand-painted chocolates by Peyrano.
Installation view, “Vieni a Videre” by Gaetano Pesce, courtesy of Bottega Veneta.
