Bottega Veneta has released the third instalment of their digital interactive zine, rather succinctly called Issue 03. Featuring Manchester City football star Raheem Sterling, photographer Nan Goldin, DJ Honey Dijon and legendary designer Stefano Pilati, the publication is part fashion shoot, part art bible. If you’re not reading it, you’re missing out on a key insight into the world of Bottega Veneta.

Bottega Veneta, Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling shot by Rosie Marks for Issue 03. Image: Bottega Veneta

The quarterly publication has become the Italian luxury brand’s voice after it did the unthinkable and ditched social media earlier in the year. (Look we’ve all thought about doing it, but Daniel Lee the madman went and actually did it.)

While Bottega has always been unafraid of taking a risk here or there, since Lee stepped up to the leadership plate things have changed at a far more rapid pace. So much so that there’s even an official demarcation of BL (Before Lee) and AL (After Lee). Or more commonly known as New Bottega.

New Bottega draws on community and collaboration – influencers, muses, collaborators and most importantly fans of the brand. Which is where we are now with Issue 03 by Bottega Veneta.

For the third installment, Lee blends iconic figures of sport and culture, of different decades, inside Issue 03’s creative mesh. Art is fashion and fashion is given a place within the confines of art. Lee has also proven to have a knack for matching the talent to the photographer.

Beyond a great picture, conversations take place between the viewer and the subject. Like all good art, however, this remains entirely subjective.  

In an exclusive shoot with new talent Rosie Marks, Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling swaps the boots for Bottega in a fashion shoot that celebrates the more casual side of the brand’s design.

Bottega Veneta
Fashion’s duke, Stefano Pilati by Davit Giogardze. Image: Bottega Veneta

Nan Goldin’s signature vintage is applied to the beauty of cellist Kelsey Lu and visual artist Brandon English in an operatic photo shoot set inside a concert hall. Minimalist music pioneer Midori Takada creates a performance piece and the art duo Isabel + Helen (Isabel Gibson and Helen Chesner) reimagine Lee’s beloved Cassette and Pouch bags, turning them into novel blow-up figures.

Thierry Perez reimagines iconic women in new season Bottega – yes, that’s legend Diana Vreeland thank you very much.

That’s not even to mention the stunning portraiture of fashion’s grand duke, Stefano Pilati, lensed like a king by Davit Giogardze.

If social media has become the old new media, Issued by Bottega gives us an interesting glimpse at the way brands can continue to interact with an audience on their own terms beyond the filters of Instagram. Could it be that the traditional magazine concept, albeit rejigged for a digital space, is coming back? Fingers crossed.