Leather is the star of the show at Bottega Veneta

Yesterday in Milan, British designer Daniel Lee unveiled his sophomore collection for Bottega Veneta in a showcase which served to cement a new modern era for the Italian label.

Long renowned as a bastion of stealth wealth thanks to its half-century heritage as a luxury leather specialist, the 32-year-old has been successful in injecting a youthful, agenda-setting sense of relevance to the house since his arrival in July last year.

His debut collection, which was unveiled in February, was chock full of distinctive new-gen hits including square toe padded mules and pillowy leather clutch bags which have proven a regular sighting on front rows this month.

There was an evolution of this for next season, with his reworking of the signature intrecciato weave into a squishy shoe strap now among his calling cards. A pair of glitterball pumps joined them, along with huge sack-like holdalls worn across the body and chain strap shoulder bags both bearing the house weave in lieu of any logos.