Bottega Veneta keeps the house Intrecciato on a discreet part of this shoe

By Gordon Goh

Some of the Bottega Veneta shoes I like (okay, obsess over) are, sadly, deal breakers for one simple reason: the all-over Intrecciato treatment. To me, the woven leather is great on bags, but on my feet, they look like I am wearing a repurposed basket. Thankfully, BV heard me (okay, I deceived myself). Their latest shoes, a handsome ‘Ben’, is styled after a moccasin, with their distinctive seamed upper. It is given a rather wide, squarish toe box, which reminds me of those tanks of a shoe Prada used to make in the ’90s. But Ben is different as it has a bag featuring the brand’s decorative way with leather: the Intrecciato. It covers the heel, which BV calls the “backstay”. Anyway, it really has got the shoe’s back.

The BV Intrecciato is essentially the brand’s monogram, except that it is less flashy and is more tactile. So applying it judiciously makes sense—at least, to me, it does. Given the way monograms have basically become more branding than product, I really think that BV’s portion of the woven leather for the backstay, no bigger than a Post-It note, is really moving opposite the point of saturation. Anyway, Ben does not sound like a name that needs an excess of anything. With the already thick lugged rubber soles, this discretion points to a beautiful sense of balance. I know I sound enamoured, but I have way too many pairs of shoes to be more committed than praise Ben. Just let’s say that I don’t wish for the sugar rush to be a headache.

Bottega Veneta ‘Ben’ lace-ups, SGD1,900, is available at Bottega Veneta stores. Photos: Bottega Veneta