Worth It: Bottega Veneta's Foulard Cassette Bag

Welcome back to Worth It, our weekly seal of approval on noteworthy launches and bespoke collaborations in the worlds of beauty and fashion. If it's featured here, consider these investments worthwhile.

Before #newBottega hashtags took over the internet, the Italian brand Bottega Veneta was known for its extraordinary leather goods. With origins as an independent company founded in 1966, the brand became famous in the U.S. with the opening of its New York City store in 1972. Built on its masterful, subdued approach to luxury and craftsmanship, Bottega Veneta quickly became a household name for leather lovers who admired a discreet sensibility achieved via their signature intrecciato weave designs. Intrecciato, which literally translates to braided, has become a signature for the Bottega brand—using strips of leather to create a dense woven pattern. Now, more than fifty years later, with newly-minted creative director Matthieu Blazy at the helm, the brand is revisiting its dedication to the classics with a few subtly modern twists.

The Foulard Cassette, the newest style for Bottega's Pre-Spring 2023 collection, reimagines Bottega's iconic intrecciato weave while drawing upon the house's unique new foulard printing technique, described by the house as "a pinched technique that creates movement on papery leather." 

Known for its distinctive boxy shape, the cassette handbag style, comprised of woven "fettuce," or narrow leather strips, has a functional crossbody style crafted from 100 percent traceable leather. The new Foulard treatment means each bag is inherently one-of-a-kind.

But unlike so many "it" bags, the Foulard Cassette is not meant to be an icon frozen in time. Instead, the bag adheres to the brand's principles of blending pragmatism and luxury. Creating a bridge between the past and the future, the Foulard Cassette is undoubtedly a bag you can pass down through the generations. And the brand's new initiative, the Certificate of Craft program, further drives home the Italian house's mission to create pieces made to last across lifespans. The program offers unlimited lifetime services to refresh, repair, and even replace your Bottega Veneta bag following wear and tear.

"Our commitment to always use superior materials and preserve outstanding craft while focusing on responsible growth inspired us to offer this new [Certificate of Craft] service to our clients," says the brand. A bag meant to last a lifetime? Now that's totally worth it.

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