Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but there’s nothing like going straight to the source. Just look to the state of the shoe industry. 

Brand after brand is putting out elevated takes on their signature shoes, frequently adding an interlaced leather pattern that feels like 50 shades of Bottega Veneta’s Intrecciato weave — a technique it invented in 1975 that’s become its signature. Yet as nice as a Bottega-fied Nike Air Force 1 Low or Converse Chuck Taylor All Star may be, no brand can match the OG.

Bottega Veneta’s Fall/Winter 2026 footwear collection is proof of that. The new all-Intrecciato version of its Pier Boat Shoe is a simple upgrade on a classic, yet it transforms the usually summery silhouette into something fit for sweater-and-coat weather, boat be damned. Meanwhile, the almost cartoonish construction of its $1,350 Klog Mule — fully wrapped in interlocking strips of leather, with no visible seams — feels like a Dutch klompen won the lottery and got really into Italian luxury. 

This Klog feels particularly aligned with this New New Bottega era, under the creative direction of Louise Trotter since 2025. The same level of tactility and craftsmanship that her predecessor Matthieu Blazy brought is here, but whereas he leaned into surrealism and trompe l'oeil trickery, the Trotter era feels far more grounded and practical: the Intrecciato Klog is an Intrecciato Klog. Simple as that. 

Thank the brief but essential creative directorship of Daniel Lee, from 2019 to 2022, for the full tilt toward the weave. After he purposefully “blew up” Intrecciato to supersized proportions, adding it to everything from skirts to coats, the technique hasn’t just evolved with each successive Bottega leader. It's filtered throughout fashion, becoming shorthand for a dedication to craftsmanship. 

But whereas other brands are following in the Italian house’s well-trodden footsteps (to admittedly great results), it's telling that a single new shoe can become an instant reminder of why nobody does Bottega like Bottega. 

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