On January 5th, Bottega Veneta suddenly disappeared from our feeds causing quite a buzz amongst those in the know. Directed since 2018 by Daniel Lee, the house had enjoyed a huge social media following. Suddenly and without warning, they disappeared, leaving their 2.5 million followers in the dark. CEO of the Kering group, Bottega Veneta's parent company, François-Henri Pinault explained the surprising decision to Women's Wear Daily: "it's not disappearing from social networks — it's merely using them differently. Bottega has decided, in line with its positioning, 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."
In many ways it's a similar story at Balenciaga. Since the arrival of Demna Gvaslia — nearly as taciturn on the ‘gram as Daniel Lee — the account only publishes caption-less photos showing new pieces being worn by nameless models. It's reminiscent of Martin Margiela's vow of silence — this absence, a source of mystery and thus also one of curiosity and even desire, in reality turns out to be an effective tactic for reinforcing consumer's appreciation for a given brand. As proof, just take the runaway success of Bottega Veneta's latest campaign, largely shared by now-official accounts created by fans, such as the influential @newbottega.
In fact, it's common practice for designers to shake up a house's social media when they take the helm. At Courrèges, for example, the announcement of Nicolas Di Felice's arrival as Artistic Director was prefaced by an unsentimental and integral wipe of the label's grid, followed by 78 photos of archive pieces, all posted the same day. At Givenchy, Matthew M. Williams made a similar decision in deleting all the posts made under previous directors. Two unexpected ways of taking the reins and signaling the arrival of a new era.