Bottega Veneta has arrived slope-side with its first store in Aspen — and an arty twist. The Kering-owned luxury brand has also entered into a partnership with the Aspen Art Museum, which syncs with creative director Matthieu Blazy’s interest in art and craft. (At the fall 2023 show in Milan, three exceptional sculptures on loan from museums were installed on the runway — two naked Roman runners in bronze circa 1 B.C., and Umberto Boccioni’s “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” from 1913.)
The design of the 1,882-square-foot store on East Hyman Avenue embraces the mountain aesthetic with Aspen wood veneer ceiling beams and a soft, natural color palette of white, cream, gray and beige. Freestanding display shelves and clothes rails take inspiration from the region’s trees, while soft seating areas recall rocks and stones.
With an emphasis on warmth and comfort, the interior uses bouclé fabrics on both the walls and seating, while a private area at the back of the store offers a cozy place to relax while shopping the men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, leather accessories, footwear and home goods.
Bottega Veneta Aspen
BJORN BAUER
Bottega Veneta is also launching a yearlong partnership with the artist-founded Aspen Art Museum, a contemporary, exhibition-focused, non-collecting institution.
Since the 2014 opening of the museum’s Shigeru Ban-designed building, AAM has increased attendance and civic interaction. In 2017, it was one of 10 institutions to receive the United States’ National Medal for Museum and Library Services for its educational outreach to rural communities, as well as its learning partnerships with civic and cultural partners within a 100-mile radius of the museum.
Bottega Veneta Aspen
BJORN BAUER
Bottega Veneta’s agreement with AAM will see the brand supporting several events throughout the upcoming year, beginning with a John Chamberlain exhibition, “The Tighter They’re Wound, The Harder They Unravel,” curated by the Swiss artist Urs Fischer and in partnership with the Dia Art Foundation. Chamberlain, who died in 2011, was known for his assemblage compositions in automotive scrap and crushed metal which helped redefine the possibilities of sculpture starting in the 1960s.
It’s the first comprehensive exhibition of Chamberlain’s work in more than a decade, spanning across three floors of the museum. The exhibition runs from Thursday through April 7.
