On the occasion of the Year of the Dragon, Italian luxury brand Bottega Veneta collaborated for the fourth time with Chinese female director Jess Zou, releasing their 2024 Chinese New Year short film titled “The First Sunrise with You“.
The camera follows the brand’s global ambassador, the famous actress Shu Qi, as she steps onto the balcony, waiting for the first light of dawn in the new year. The scene shifts to riversides, beaches, cities, and mountains, where friends, families, and lovers gather to witness the rising sun.
Directed by Jess Zou as well, Bottega Veneta’s 2023 Chinese New Year short film “Homeward Bound” featured supermodel Liu Wen leading a group of national models portraying homeward-bound travelers, using various modes of transport to begin their journey home.
During the 2023 Spring Festival, Bottega Veneta also launched a nostalgic green train offline, embarking on a month-long journey across Chinese cities and countryside. The green hue of the train matched Bottega Veneta’s iconic green color.
Bottega Veneta’s 2023 New Year Train
The 2024 short film continues the theme of “reunion,” a central motif of the Chinese New Year, and combines it with “travel,” naturally integrating Bottega Veneta’s leather products into the narrative.
Both short films were completed under the guidance of Bottega Veneta’s Creative Director Matthieu Blazy. Whether in terms of cinematography or emotional core, they convey his vision for the brand – “dynamism.” He has said, “As a leather goods brand, pragmatism is at the core of Bottega Veneta. Since it specializes in handbag design, the brand is about dynamism, about journeys; its craftsmanship exemplifies motion.”
In March 2023, Bottega Veneta released the short film “Craft in Motion,” highlighting their iconic bag weaving craftsmanship and demonstrating the brand’s dedication to artisanal excellence and appreciation for slow craftsmanship.
Since Matthieu Blazy took over as Bottega Veneta’s Creative Director in 2021, he has been advocating the concept of “luxury in motion,” focusing not only on the derived pragmatism but more importantly on the process, rather than the outcome.
This latest Chinese New Year short film subtly expresses this focus on “process” — even if one cannot return to their hometown to reunite with family, we can all gaze at the same dawn light, quietly savoring this emotionally charged “process.”
| Image Credit: Bottega Veneta
丨Reporter:Huang Yuting
| Editor: Zhu Ruoyu
