The Daniel Lee and Bottega Breakup
Two weeks ago, the fashion industry abruptly received the news that the now ex-creative director of Bottega Veneta, Daniel Lee, would be parting ways with Kering-owned fashion house. In a statement released by both Lee and Kering’s socials, the split was summed up to a “joint decision” which was a fairly vague statement, leaving fashion critics and commentators to speculate what could’ve caused the breakup. And the more people talked about it, the more obvious it seemed that things weren’t adding up.
Daniel Lee was appointed creative director of the house in 2019, meaning that his entire stay only spanned 3 years and less than a dozen fashion seasons. In that short time period, Lee had made waves, breathing life back into the Italian house and giving it a modern and Instagram-worthy look. The same year he began working at Bottega, he took home 4 CFDA awards, more than any other designer had taken home in one night in the history of the event, including names like Alexander McQueen.
Lee had created a series of instant bestsellers that became synonymous with the New Bottega, such as the pouch bag and the square-toe woven pumps. He even set house codes, like making Bottega Green a staple color. In a recent report directly from Kering, Bottega’s parent company, 9.3% of 2020’s revenue was attributed to the brand, no small feat when you consider that on Kering’s roster you can also find houses like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga. So with so much success in such a short amount of time, what could have led Lee and Kering to this decision?
Almost instantly, the fashion industry could smell something fishy in the air. The joint decision was announced on November 10th, coincidentally the same day as the CFDA Fashion Awards, and even more suspiciously, on a night where Daniel was nominated for two awards: International Womenswear Designer of the Year and International Menswear designer of the year. Why would a decision of this magnitude be announced on such an important night for both the creative director and the brand? Needless to say, Lee did not take any awards home that night.
Critics also began to point out the verbiage used in the announcement. For starters, Kering described Lee’s work at the house as a “collaboration,” possibly in an attempt to distance themselves from Daniel, and emphasized that the decision was mutual between both parties. Some Twitter users also pointed out the short time between the two most recent collections, Salon 2 and Salon 3, with only 6 weeks in between. This is a very small amount of time to put in between two major seasonal collections, and many felt that was rushed.
WWD reported on reliable sources that are close to the brand who were speaking up about Lee’s less than professional work environment. According to WWD’s anonymous interviewees, Lee’s tenure at the house was littered with numerous veteran employees quitting due to being “unhappy with the atmosphere at the company.” Another source also told WWD that “at a moment when the company is healthy and the brand is performing so well, there must have been personal reasons behind this decision.” The sources also stated that Lee was “fired with immediate effect,” contrary to what had originally been stated.
Amidst discussions of why or why not Lee was leaving Bottega, the company appointed design director Matthieu Blazy, as its newest creative director. This has been the silver lining of the entire fiasco, given that Blazy is an industry veteran, having worked under names like Raf Simons and John Galliano.
Evidence started to pile up, pointing to the idea that this decision was made wholly by Kering, and wasn’t a joint decision after all. It was also increasingly obvious that Daniel Lee did not have the best reputation amongst his peers, and that there was an ulterior reason behind letting go of the designer who revamped the house.
Then, on the evening of November 17th, new information came to light. At around roughly 6:53 PM, Louis Pisano, fashion commentator, and High Fashion Twitter councilman took to the platform to disclose information from an allegedly close person to the matter. According to the tweet, “Daniel Lee was promptly fired by Francois-Henri Pinault after he allegedly called someone a “f*cking N*gger” in a meeting at Bottega Veneta.” Instantly, the internet was set ablaze.
The fashion industry is unfortunately not a stranger to blatant acts of racism, with comparisons quickly being drawn to the Galliano anti-semitism incident that occurred in 2011. But the shock and disappointment that follows incidents of this kind is something that one can never really get used to—and we never should. Fashion is a universal language that aims to unite us through art, and it's unfortunate that someone who created such magnificent designs could have such harmful things to say about another human being and fellow peer.
Whether the information is true or not, we may never know. But it did gain enough attention to receive a direct response from Kering’s official Twitter account. In a tweet responding to Pisano, the company stated that they “deny what you have been told and what you have shared about the reasons of the departure of Daniel Lee from Bottega Veneta.” At this moment it is uncertain whether Kering will be speaking on the matter in a more public and open manner, but sadly, the puzzle pieces all fit. It would make sense that Daniel Lee would be let go of Bottega Veneta with such hastiness, by Kering directly, after such abhorrent events.
As the following weeks roll out, and the news of Daniel Lee exiting Bottega Veneta still echoes throughout the industry, it’ll be interesting to watch the news evolve on its own. Will someone from within the company who witnessed this behavior speak publicly about the incident or decide to take legal action? One can only wait and see.