Bottega Veneta Returns to Social Media

Ever since its abrupt disappearance from all platforms two years ago, Bottega Veneta has opted to forego a social media presence altogether. In lieu of Reels, TikToks and Stories, the Italian fashion house previously experimented with a proprietary iPhone app, on which it shared content leading up to creative director Matthieu Blazy’s debut at Bottega’s helm — but its cleanse from the mainstream feeds remained very real.

Now, in an entrance just as stealthy as its exit, the Kering-owned label has quietly returned to social media — not Instagram, TikTok or Twitter, but the popular Chinese social media app, Weibo.

There, the brand posted several teaser videos for its forthcoming Fall/Winter 2023 collection, which earned upwards of 2.5 million views, 2,200 likes and more than 250 comments, ahead of the show’s commencement on March 2. Similar videos were shared to Blazy’s official social accounts and @newbottega, a fan account for the label with more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram. At the time of writing, Bottega’s official Weibo account has amassed over 3,500 followers.

The brand’s decision to return to Weibo marks a shift in its strategy to gain wider visibility in the Chinese market. According to a recent Bain report, Chinese consumers respond to different social media strategies, in regard to digital play, cultural touchstones and brand relationships, when compared to global markets. Weibo’s platform is an ideal starting point for an expanded presence among the country’s luxury shoppers.

Bottega had more than 2.5 million Instagram followers and 270,000 Weibo followers prior to the brand’s departure from social media under Daniel Lee’s reign. At the time, Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault explained that the brand had decided to “lean much more on its ambassadors and fans by giving them the material they need to talk about the brand through various social networks, by letting them speak for the brand rather than doing it itself.”

It is unlikely that Blazy will reboot Bottega’s accounts on Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, as the brand has effectively positioned itself as fashionably mysterious. But, never say never.

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