Tomas Maier to exit Bottega Veneta

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Erin Floyd

Published
Jun 13, 2018

Tomas Maier has left a deep impression on the identity of Bottega Veneta, where he has served for the past 17 years. On Wednesday, the Kering group, owner of the label, announced the departure of its creative director, aged 61 years, who was recruited in 2001 by Tom Ford.

"It's largely due to Tomas's high-level creative demands that Bottega Veneta became the House it is today. He put it back on the luxury scene and made it an undisputed reference. With his creative vision, he magnificently showcased the expertise of the House’s artisans. I am deeply grateful to him and I personally thank him for the work he accomplished, and for the exceptional success he helped to achieve," said François-Henri Pinault in a press release.

Indeed, the German designer, who previously worked at Guy Laroche, Sonia Rykiel and Hermès, has helped the brand go far beyond the high-end woven leather bag for which it is best known, even if in 2017 leather still accounted for 85% of its 1.176 billion euros in revenue. In the same year, the label's operating income totalled 294 million euros, figures which are worth comparing with the brand's results from ten years ago, when its revenue came to 366 million euros, while operating income totalled 92 million. 

The figures are impressive but Bottega Veneta does not yet have the same dynamic as Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga. The house was only able to stabilise its situation over the course of the last fiscal year, following a string of shaky seasons and the appointment of Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, former CEO of Hugo Boss, called in to take over and get the brand back on its feet. 

For his part, Tomas Maier can now concentrate on his own Florida-based label, which was founded in 1997 and recently signed off on a collaboration with Japanese brand Uniqlo.

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Kering has yet to give any information concerning the creative director whose job it will be to replace Maier at Bottega Veneta and continue to push the brand's growth.