Bottega Veneta exits social media on all platforms

Bottega Veneta has quietly closed its social media accounts, exiting Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, sparking an end to its social marketing communications.

In an unprecedented move for a luxury fashion house, the Kering-owned company has chosen to restrict its digital communications, going against the tide of most marketing strategies. In December Bottega Veneta debuted its Spring Summer 2021 collection on Instagram, which saw a salon style show take place at London’s Sadler’s Wells, to a very limited live audience. While it was an audivisual format and editorial project designed by conceptual artist Rosemarie Trockel, the brand chose social media as part of its unveiling.

Interestingly, Bottega creative director Daniel Lee has never had an Instagram profile, stating in interviews he does not see social media as a focus. In a 2019 Lee told British Vogue: “It was good to grow up in the pre-Instagram era: we had a lot of fun. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future. I believe there will be a return to privacy. I really hope so”.

Exiting the platforms may be a winning coup for Bottega Veneta fan accounts, which include profiles such as bottegaveneta.by.daniellee, bottegaveneta_international, bottega.men and by_daniel_lee, testifying to a constant interest in the new course of the brand .

The triad formula of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter may be over

Digital communications and the platforms brands and businesses are embracing has seen significant changes in the past year. While a self-operated account can offer a singular point of view, many luxury brands have expanded their presence on newer platforms, no longer satisfied with the canonical triad Instagram-Facebook-Twitter, and investing instead in TikTok, the Z Generation social network, and live streaming network Twitch, the platform where Burberry chose to unveil its latest collection.

Fashion avatars, gaming and Pokémon Go

The common thread that binds the realms of fashion and digital has also morphed to the world of gaming, as was recently embraced by Balenciaga and Valentino. In 2019 Gucci invested a large digital spend in Genies, the avatar company, as part of the brand’s ongoing “experiments” with digital touchpoints and reaching the elusive Gen Z audience. Just this week following a new collaboration between Gucci and The North Face saw both brands team-up with Pokémon GO for their collection release. The avatar items based on the T-shirts, hats, and backpacks from The North Face x Gucci collection will be available for a limited time at over 100 PokéStops around the world.

Perhaps the proliferation of online interactions is what Bottega sees as negatively impacting its exclusivity status and less-is-more mantra. Being active on all channels – be it Instagram, Tiktok or any social platform – may not match its current strategy. For now, its back is turned, and Game Over.

Image via Bottega Veneta website