Bottega Veneta swaps social media for digital magazine

Luxury brand Bottega Veneta, part of Kering, is quitting social media and launching its own digital magazine. However, this does not mean that the accessory brand will completely disappear from the ‘socials’.

Magazine full of videos and music

Bottega Veneta has launched a new digital magazine called Issue. The magazine is published quarterly and is filled with multimedia content, such as catwalk images, music and videos. A host of celebrities, including Missy Elliott and Neneh Cherry, make an appearance.

The launch is part of a radical and surprising new digital communications strategy: in January, the label quietly pulled the plug on its own social media accounts, including those on Instagram. Daniel Lee, the 35-year-old creative director of Bottega Veneta, is strongly opposed to social media, he tells The Guardian.

Mood of bullying

Lee denounces the mood of bullying and negativity that prevails: “I wanted to do something joyful instead. We are not just a brand, we are a team of people who work together, and I don’t want to collude in an atmosphere that feels negative,” he says.

Moreover, social networking “homogenises” and “oversimplifies” culture. “Everyone sees the same stream of content”, which means that the creativity and “enormous amount of thought” of designers is not valued.

Yet the brand will not disappear from social media just like that. Bottega Veneta may no longer post content itself, but it does call on influencers to do so in its place. And that seems to be working well: selfies and posts continue to appear. A new fan account now even has half a million followers.