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When Bottega Veneta’s “Destinations” opened at NOMAD Abu Dhabi earlier this month, there was a single prompt: take Intrecciato, the maison’s most recognisable craft, and see what happens when it’s interpreted through different cultures, materials, and creative practices. Celebrating fifty years of Intrecciato, eight creatives were invited from the Middle East and North Africa to make that brief come to life.
Curated by Rana Beiruti, the exhibition featured works by Abdalla Almulla, Amine Asselman, Esna Su, Nader Gammas, Shaha Raphael, Zein Daouk, Sayar & Garibeh, and the architectural office, bahraini — danish. Each piece played around with the idea of weaving, whether physically, symbolically, or structurally. Ceramic sheets sat beside palm-frond braiding, and volcanic stone appeared next to reserve leather sourced from the Bottega Veneta atelier.
Beiruti described the works as interpretations that honour Intrecciato while still staying true to each designer’s own style. Certain pieces leaned towards established regional weaving practices, while others approached weaving conceptually, treating it as a way to interlace ideas, narratives, and cultural references. This felt right for Intrecciato, which has always been more than just a technique.
Introduced in 1975, Intrecciato is built from slender leather fettucce woven by hand in a diagonal configuration. It’s simple, but deceptively so. The consistency of the weave has made it easy to adapt to countless reinterpretations over the last five decades.
The participating creatives brought their own frames of reference to the project. Emirati architect Abdalla Almulla, founder of MULA, is known for using geometry and iterative experimentation to reframe everyday environments. Moroccan artist Amine Asselman draws from both scientific and cultural influences, working from Tetouan where he runs a ceramic and zellige workshop. The office bahraini — danish, founded by Batool Alshaikh, Maitham Almubarak, and Christian Vennerstrøm Jensen, approaches design through curiosity about surroundings, history, and culture, producing work that shifts fluidly across genres.
Textile artist Esna Su contributed her sensitivity to identity and memory, themes that shaped her previous international exhibitions, while Dubai-based lighting designer Nader Gammas married storytelling and functionality. Studio Sayar & Garibeh blended wit with traditional craft, a hallmark of their Beirut and Paris-based practice. Architect Shaha Raphael focused on tactile ritual and collaboration with artisans, while Zein Daouk drew from her exploration of the fungal realm in The Third Kingdom, where biomorphic ceramics reflect ideas of symbiosis and shared humanity.
“Destinations” revealed the richness that emerges when different materials, traditions, and identities intersect. In that sense, it mirrored the essence of weaving itself, which involves individual strands forming something stronger and more layered together. While the event may have ended its run on November 22, but its ideas feel ongoing — a reminder that craft weaves through the people who reinterpret it.
