Can a city offer a fashion house anything more than just a backdrop? That’s the intriguing question Bottega Veneta poses with its Winter 2026 campaign. Milan plays a role here through its variations in scale, the transition from interiors to monumental architecture, and the proximity of the landscape and sculpture. Through the lens of Juergen Teller, who directed this new campaign, the Lombard capital becomes the setting for a meeting of two demands: to construct a fashion image while allowing the locations to retain their own presence. This artistic choice deserves our attention, precisely because it makes the environment a subject in its own right.
The City as an Indirect Portrait of a Fashion House
The choice of Milan makes sense in light of the vision for Bottega Veneta championed by Louise Trotter. For the creative director, craftsmanship and creative innovation feed into one another. The campaign extends this relationship beyond the workshop. It seeks, within the urban space, in buildings, and in works of art, a way to make this dialogue tangible, without reducing it to a discourse on craftsmanship.
This shift is fruitful. Talking about craftsmanship naturally leads one to focus on the gesture; talking about architecture compels one to also consider what a form creates around it. A structure imposes distance, while an interior allows for closeness. By bringing these two registers together, the project allows us to interpret the brand’s identity through relationships between volumes and sensations of space. It proposes a correspondence rather than a demonstration.
However, we must distinguish this intention from what it actually conveys. No details of craftsmanship or specific pieces from the collection are described in the campaign’s presentation. Its focus lies elsewhere: on an atmosphere, on the relationship between a creative universe and a region. This is where its editorial value lies. Milan offers Bottega Veneta a way to speak about itself without relying solely on its products as a starting point.
From the Monumental to the Intimate
Villa Terenzio and the Fondazione Pagani are among the selected locations. These two names provide anchor points for the project, whose journey combines interior spaces, organically shaped architecture, and outdoor sculptures. The natural landscape also forms part of this geography. The whole creates less a set itinerary than a succession of shifts in perspective: what envelops, what imposes itself, what opens up the view.
The contrast suggested by the house pits brutalism against sensuality. The concept might seem abstract; it becomes clearer when applied to the situations described. On one hand, monumental structures. On the other, the possibility of unexpected intimacy and gentleness. The challenge, therefore, is not simply to juxtapose two aesthetics. It consists of revealing, in the presence of powerful architecture, an experience that is less distant than its sheer scale would suggest.
This is where the setting ceases to be interchangeable. A monumental space can place everything around it under its authority. Contrasting it with a sensory dimension amounts to altering this hierarchy: attention is no longer focused solely on the building, but also on the way it is inhabited. For a fashion campaign, this relationship matters. It allows us to envision the look within a setting, rather than simply against a backdrop.
The presence of the landscape, for its part, prevents Milan from being confined to an exclusively built interpretation. The exterior is not solely that of architecture; it also encompasses works of art and nature. Without attributing to each site a function that the project does not specify, one can recognize in this diversity a desire for circulation. The countryside shifts from one spatial regime to another, without reducing the entire city to a single impression.
An artistic project, with all that this entails
Juergen Teller is the photographer behind the images for Winter 2026, conceived from the outset as an artistic project. This description implies more than a mere choice of vocabulary. It invites us to examine the relationship between photography, sculpture, and architecture, rather than viewing the locations as mere props for a seasonal presentation. The outdoor works contribute to this dialogue: the art already exists in the spaces where the countryside takes hold.
The nuance is important. Simply photographing fashion in the vicinity of art is not enough to establish an exchange. The value of this approach lies in the emphasis placed on the differences between the environments. The intimate nature of an interior does not invite the same interpretation as the presence of a sculpture outdoors. By bringing these situations together under a single photographic style, Bottega Veneta chooses the coherence of a vision rather than the uniformity of a framework.
A useful tension remains: a campaign retains its advertising function, even when it claims artistic ambition. Rather than erasing this function, the project seems to seek to expand it. The aim is to give the image a substance that is not limited to brand identification. Here, that substance is Milanese: specific locations, a coexistence of forms, a beauty that the house presents as composed of nuances.
Milan, without reducing it to a mere symbol
The campaign aims to explore both the visible aspects of Milan and its more subtle dimensions. This intention opens up another way of interpreting the choice of locations. The city is not merely invoked to be instantly recognizable. It is viewed as a whole, certain qualities of which demand a more deliberate appreciation. The transition between interior and exterior serves precisely this idea: what defines a place is not always apparent from the street.
This can be seen as the project’s most compelling approach. Rather than a singular representation of Milan, Bottega Veneta prefers a city marked by contrasts. Monumentality does not negate gentleness; the built environment does not sum up the landscape. This complexity provides visual material, but also a cultural stance: choosing a location implies granting it more than just the role of a geographical signature.
A campaign in Louise Trotter’s calendar
Winter 2026 finally marks a specific moment for the creative direction. Louise Trotter is set to present her third collection for Bottega Veneta during the upcoming Milan Fashion Week, exactly one year after her debut with the house. The campaign thus offers a photographic expression of her vision, before the runway show presents a new interpretation through clothing.
It would be premature to look for clues about this upcoming collection here: none are provided. The stage is set, however. Following the interiors, architecture, and sculptures curated by Juergen Teller, Louise Trotter’s work will continue on the Milan runway with a third collection that will showcase how far she has come in a year.