Louise Trotter

Louise Trotter is a British fashion designer born in Sunderland in 1969 and trained at Newcastle Polytechnic. Her early career moved through Whistles, senior womenswear roles at Calvin Klein and Gap, H Hilfiger and Jigsaw before she became Creative Director of Joseph in 2009. Across those appointments she developed experience in design, buying, merchandising and the construction of a complete wardrobe.

Trotter led Lacoste from 2018 to 2023, bringing sportswear, tennis references and technically informed tailoring into its runway collections. She then became Creative Director of Carven, where three runway seasons from Spring/Summer 2024 to Spring/Summer 2025 used softened structure, precise drape and a close reading of the house’s Parisian scale. Her final Trotter-developed Carven pre-collection was released just after her stated January 2025 departure.

Bottega Veneta announced Trotter in December 2024, and she assumed operational authority at the end of January 2025. Her first full collection was Summer 2026, shown in Milan on 27 September 2025, followed by Winter 2026 in February. She remains Creative Director, working across integrated women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, footwear, jewellery and the wider house image.

Trotter builds collections as wardrobes, using proportion, drape and utility to connect tailoring with everyday dress. At Joseph, restraint and fabrication supplied the structure; at Lacoste, technical sportswear and movement sharpened it; at Carven, the method became lighter, closer to the body and attentive to Parisian house codes.

At Bottega Veneta she has paired architectural construction with softness. Intrecciato moves into clothing, recycled fibreglass creates mobile fur-like surfaces, and tailoring gains volume without losing ease. Archival bags including the Lauren, Cabat, Knot and Veneta are altered through scale and construction rather than presented as untouched reproductions.

Her work depends on a clear division between house direction and specialist authorship. Studio teams and artisans develop the products, while stylists, photographers, casting directors, sound collaborators and beauty teams shape each public project. The resulting clarity comes from editing these systems into one wardrobe rather than erasing their separate contributions.