Inside Bottega Veneta’s School of Luxury

Haute brand Bottega Veneta is giving students an education in Italian craftsmanship and tradition. The Maison is collaborating with La Scuola dei Maestri Pellettieri di Bottega Veneta and The University IUAV of Venice to create a three month, post-graduate level course in advanced handbag design and product development. The program, which began in January 2015, gives 12 select students the ability to learn everything there is to know about high-quality leather bag design, development and production. The course also pairs university-style classes with with close interaction between students and actual artisans that resemble traditional apprenticeships.

Learning the Trade

The first part of the course, entitled “Laboratory Bag Design, ” focuses on breaking down and analyzing the architecture of luxury handbags, and pushing the students toward creating their own designs. The second part of the course, “Laboratory of Experimental Technique,” gives students hands-on experience, and furthers their knowledge of pattern making, construction techniques, and different treatments and finishing’s of products.

Students also spent time visiting a tannery, laboratories specializing in metal details, and spent time in a Bottega Veneta boutique to experience direct contact with clientele, giving students a full view of a handbag’s journey from conceptual sketch to finished retail product.

In addition to this new program, Bottega Veneta created its own school in 2006 to train a new generation of artisans.

(Via Luxury Insider)