Bottega Veneta launches Craft is Our Language, a campaign marking five decades of its signature Intrecciato leather weave. The project brings together images by Jack Davison and choreography by Lenio Kaklea to explore Intrecciato not just as a craft, but as a form of expression. Introduced in 1975, the weave stands as a constant in the house’s vocabulary, executed through hours of handwork and inherited skill. Now, it takes on renewed life through a focus on hands and gestures.
The campaign brings Bottega Veneta artisans into conversation with figures across film, music, literature, art, fashion, and sport. Appearances include Jack Antonoff, Julianne Moore, Shu Qi, Zadie Smith, Dave Free, I.N, Rie Miyazawa, Troy Kotsur, Edward Buchanan, and Lauren Hutton. Each brings their discipline into dialogue with craft through stills and short films, where movement replaces explanation. Bottega Veneta presents hands not only as tools of skill but as carriers of meaning across language, culture, and generation.
Two figures in particular connect the past and present of the house. Lauren Hutton famously carried an Intrecciato clutch in American Gigolo, while Edward Buchanan shaped the house’s first ready-to-wear collections in the 1990s. Both appear in the campaign, reinforcing the connection between Bottega Veneta’s past and its evolution. Short films pair artisans with collaborators like Thanaerng, Terrance Lau, Barbara Chase-Riboud, and Hutton to explore technique through conversation and gesture.
The craft of Intrecciato involves weaving narrow leather strips, fettucce, around wooden molds or into base panels. It takes shape through diagonal construction and demands exact proportion and high-quality leather. The house’s Veneto roots shape this technique, which continues to evolve within the atelier. Every version adapts in size, material, and tone, without abandoning the method at its core.
Bottega Veneta keeps its focus on craft over branding. The house maintains a no-logo philosophy, choosing instead to let the material and construction define its identity. This campaign reflects that choice, using movement and human connection to communicate values without slogans. The visual language draws from Bruno Munari’s 1963 book Supplement to the Italian Dictionary, a classic study of Italian hand gestures that helped shape the campaign’s concept and tone.
Alongside the images and films, Bottega Veneta will release a book in September to continue the campaign. It will document 50 hand gestures as part of a visual dictionary, each one tied to the craft, the material, and the values that define Intrecciato. With this project, the house reaffirms the link between technical precision and personal expression, keeping craft in motion while honoring its form.
Campaign Credits
Photographer and Director: Jack Davison
Art Director: Paul Olivennes
Choreographer: Lenio Kaklea
Directors of Photography: James Beattie, Peter Hou
Stylist: Robbie Spencer
Casting: Julia Lange
Hair: Sigi Kumpfmüller
Make-Up: Hiromi Ueda
Set Designers: Staci-Lee Hindley, Julia Wagner
Production: Untitled Project
