Bottega Veneta celebrates 50 years of Intrecciato with 'Craft is our language' The new campaign dedicated to manual gestures and the brand's iconic motif

In 2025, Bottega Veneta celebrates half a century of Intrecciato, the iconic artisanal technique that made the maison famous worldwide, with a new campaign titled Craft is our Language. Photographed by Jack Davison and choreographed by Lenio Kaklea, the campaign focuses on the value and beauty of hand gestures. This weaving of leather strips, done entirely by hand, has always represented the soul of the brand, which was born in 1966 as a collective of artisans in the heart of Veneto. The project unfolds through a series of images and videos that create a dialogue between Bottega Veneta’s artisans and prominent figures from the international cultural scene, including Tyler, the Creator, Dario Argento, Julianne Moore, Jack Antonoff, Zadie Smith, Lorenzo Musetti, Barbara Chase-Riboud, I.N., Lorenzo Viotti, Thanaerng, and many others. Two individuals, in particular, embody the brand’s history: Edward Buchanan, who was Design Director from 1995 to 2000, and Lauren Hutton, who brought Intrecciato to the big screen in 1980 with the film American Gigolo.

One of the most touching aspects of the campaign is the focus on gestures in the shots that accompany the protagonists' faces. In the short films, manual art is placed in parallel with interpretive, artistic, and musical expression, in a dialogue between seemingly distant worlds that share the same root: ars, from Latin, meaning art, skill, craft. This reflection breaks the traditional distinction between artist and artisan, proposing a unified vision of creativity. The Intrecciato, introduced in 1975, is the result of masterful leather weaving, inspired by Venetian tradition. The technique, which requires hours or even days of patient work, is the most powerful symbol of Bottega Veneta’s identity. Although the maison embraces a no-logo philosophy, it is the Intrecciato that makes it instantly recognizable, thanks to the quality of materials, the innovative diagonal layout of the strips, and the constant evolution of the design. Reinforcing the connection with Italian culture, the campaign also draws inspiration from Supplement to the Italian Dictionary by Bruno Munari, a tribute to gestures as a form of visual and bodily communication. This connection to Italian roots will also materialize in the publication of a book, coming out in September, which will collect 50 representative gestures of Bottega Veneta’s language and values.