Tomas Maier (born Thomas Maier, 1956-) is a German-born designer who is currently Head of Creative Design at Italian luxury goods company Bottega Veneta, a subsidiary of the Gucci Group. Tomas Maier has trained and worked with some of the most prestigious luxury fashion houses in France, Italy and Germany.
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Maier was born in Pforzheim, where he attended a Waldorf school. His professional training began in Paris at the Ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne and subsequently he worked for Guy Laroche, Sonia Rykiel, where he designed menswear for eight years, Revillon, where he was Creative Director for four years, and Hermès, where he was responsible for women's ready-to-wear and also worked with leather goods and accessories.[1] In 1999, he quit all his contracts and moved to Miami.
He was recruited by Tom Ford to become Head of Creative Design at Bottega Veneta in June 2001, when the company was acquired by the Gucci Group, and has been widely credited with reinventing the label as a benchmark of understated luxury by using the highest quality materials coupled with a simple, label-free aesthetic.[2] Maier’s first act upon taking over at Bottega Veneta was to design the Cabat bag, a woven leather sack with two handles that has since become one of the label’s top-selling items. Maier has increased Bottega Veneta’s sales eight hundred per cent between 2001 and 2011.[3]
The Tomas Maier label was established in 1997 and an online boutique was launched in 1998.[4] Since then, three eponymous stores have opened in Florida and the Hamptons. The collection is sold at over 100 stores in more than 30 countries around the world.[5]
Maier currently lives in Florida.[6]