In recent years, Bottega Veneta has taken cues from decidedly grown up art titans like Le Corbusier and Umberto Boccioni. Now, it seems, creative director Matthieu Blazy is tapping into his inner child. Guests at the Italian house’s Spring/Summer 2025 presentation in Milan last month perched atop whimsical bean bag chairs. A theme of the collection was children dressing up in their parent’s clothes. The house’s latest capsule collection continues with the subtle childhood riffs, but this time with a literary spin: it’s a devoted to the renowned children’s author and illustrator Richard Scarry.
Boston-born Richard McClure Scarry wrote and illustrated more than 300 childrens’ books set in his signature animal kingdom of “Busy World” between the 1950s and the 1980s. Those books have since sold some 100 million copies worldwide—and shaped children across generations. Robertas Naukus, for instance, cited Scarry’s 1968 book What Do People Do All Day? as the inspiration for his social sculpture animating Lithuania’s pavillion at the Venice Bienniale this year.
Bottega Veneta’s Spring/Summer 2025 presentation featured Scarry-esque colorways and accents, like fuzzy head dresses. The brand’s new capsule collection carries that influence even further. Necessary leatherwares like a card holder, wallet, even a bag charm—all rendered in Bottega Veneta’s coveted Intrecciato leather weave—bear the same color cues from Scarry’s books. There’s a coin pouch in the shape of an apple, too—and a red belt with a buckle in the shape of the fruit, the preferred vehicle of Scarry’s iconic “Lowly Worm.” Blazy himself has declared the character’s uniform of a Tyrolean hat, red bowtie, blue and green body tube, and singular shoe “the best outfit in the world.”
The real star of this capsule collection, however, is an accessory unlike any other—two oversized Intrecciato editions of Scarry’s encyclopedic Biggest World Book Ever (1985). Both are based on a 2013 re-issue of the book, but one features the actual story inside, with a Bottega Veneta Ex Libris sticker on its first page. The other offers blank pages to serve as a sketchbook, plus a customizable tag for exercising the childlike pleasure of claiming one’s territory.
Scarry died in Switzerland in 1994. His granddaughter Olympia, however, attended the unveiling of Bottega Veneta’s New York VIC residence this past weekend to help launch the new capsule collection. Just like Palazzo Bottega Veneta, which was unveiled in Venice last June, this sumptuous space situated on the fifth floor above Bottega Veneta’s Madison Avenue boutique will present the brand’s wares in an impeccably designed interior that bridges its Venetian heritage and New York history through its vision of elegance. The New York VIC residence will offer exclusive services like dressing consultations and collection previews—in addition to cultural program, and, perhaps, rarified dining.
To christen the residence, artist Camille Henrot gave a reading of Richard Scarry’s “The Night Before Christmas” before teaching the children in attendance how to draw Scarry’s legendary characters. Thus, Lowly Worm’s impact lives on, amongst both his adult fans, and the next generation of trend setters.
