Steve McQueen, the Turner Prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning film director, created the soundtrack for Bottega Veneta's spring/summer 2026 runway show during Milan Fashion Week. The show, held at Fabbrica Orobia in Milan, featured McQueen's sound piece '66 – '76, which pairs vocal recordings by David Bowie and Nina Simone of the song "Wild is the Wind." This was the debut collection for new creative director Louise Trotter, who joined the Italian fashion house in December 2024.
This collaboration highlights the ongoing crossover between the visual art world and high fashion, with McQueen bringing his conceptual approach to a fashion context. His involvement underscores how artists are increasingly shaping the sensory experience of runway shows, treating them as contemporary operatic performances. For McQueen, whose recent installation at Dia:Beacon also focused on sound, this project extends his exploration of audio as a medium beyond traditional art spaces.