As visionary Jonathan Anderson departs from the helm as Creative Director of LOEWE, an esteemed tenure he has held since 2013, Whitewall pays homage to his unconventional eye for uniting luxury fashion, time-honored craftsmanship, and contemporary art.
Jonathan Anderson’s Chapter at LOEWE Comes to a Ceremonious Close
Courtesy of Loewe.
“While reflecting on the last 11 years, I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by people with the imagination, the skills, the tenacity and the resourcefulness to find a way to say ‘yes’ to all my wildly ambitious ideas,” said Anderson. “While my chapter draws to a close, LOEWE’s story will continue for many years to come, and I will look on with pride, watching it continue to grow, the amazing Spanish brand I once called Home.”
“LOEWE’s story will continue for many years to come, and I will look on with pride, watching it continue to grow,”
Jonathan Anderson
Rejoicing in Unmatched Creativity and Dedication
Photo by Saskia Lawaks, courtesy of LVMH.
“I am incredibly grateful to Jonathan Anderson for the eleven years of unmatched creativity, passion and dedication that he has given to LOEWE,” added Pascale Lepoivre, CEO of LOEWE. “With him as its creative director, the House has risen to new heights with international recognition. The Puzzle bag, celebrating its 10th anniversary, has become a true icon, and the brand codes that he has created, rooted in craft, will live on as his legacy.’
“The brand codes that he has created, rooted in craft, will live on as his legacy,”
Pascale Lepoivre
Join us in voyaging through a myriad of showstopping collaborations with the leading contemporary artists of our time, each of which further enhanced the house’s ardent devotion to the art of craft and embraced multicultural connection.
Lynda Benglis
Courtesy of LOEWE.
A trio of dripping bronze water sculptures by American sculptor Lynda Benglis sat centrally on the runway of LOEWE’s spring/summer 2024 menswear show, which gave way to a collection that equally toyed with perspective by embracing the unexpected. Archetypes were updated through tweaks in form (like ultra-high waistlines with elongated legs) and tactile choices in fabrications—ranging from tweed, leather, and teddy fur to sparkling sequins, distressed brocade, and denim—that made even the most commonplace styles seem fresh.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
There were chunky, color-blocked knits with a homemade appearance, collared sweaters with sculptural additions, cut at the waist to pair with above-the-belly-button pants shapes; colorful argyles paired with disco ball sparkles, and tailoring with a slightly vintage feeling. Looks were styled with enlarged leather shoulder bags and the occasional pair of bug-eye shades covered in crystals.
Richard Hawkins
Courtesy of LOEWE.
In Paris, LOEWE presented a vivacious men’s fall/winter 2024 runway show. Within a pristine white cube space, vast screens reminiscent of stained glass windows embellished the walls, spotlighting a deft collaboration with visionary American artist Richard Hawkins. Composed in homage to LOEWE window displays designed by José Pérez de Rozas in the 1960s, 12 colorful video collages juxtaposed the maison’s brand ambassadors with notable internet personalities and Hawkins’s own provocative imagery, producing a modern-day opus of fearless masculinity.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
All the glorious colors of the rainbow were utilized in both solid pieces and echoings of Hawkins’s tantalizing artworks onto the jacquard of knitwear, in printed garments, and throughout embroidery on Squeeze bags with new denim iterations. Even fine leather marquetry, fringes, glass studs, jewelry, and the Puzzle Fold tote overflowed with the artist’s and LOEWE’s vivid fantasia for menswear, as well as the decadent, mysterious mosaic that is our contemporary reality.
Studio Ghibli
LOEWE and Studio Ghibli collaboration, Courtesy of LOEWE; published by WWD.
Equally stylish and adorable, LOEWE’s 2021 capsule collection offered an ode to Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 animation My Neighbor Totoro. Made in collaboration with the creator’s Studio Ghibli, a selection of clothing and accessories featured the movie’s characters and imagery as graphics. Our favorites included an orange biker jacket with tiny black, googly-eyed puff balls on the zipper pulls and an oversized logo tee featuring Totoro. An additional capsule collection unfolded in 2022 with Studio Ghibli’s equally legendary film “Spirited Away.”
Anthea Hamilton
Courtesy of Loewe.
The precision of form, taking notes from nature, was the most memorable aspect of LOEWE’s debuts for the spring/summer 2023 season. Anderson aligned with British artist Anthea Hamilton, whose warm and whimsical designs were echoed in every thread of the collection. At the center of the runway was an enormous red Anthurium bloom, its peculiar shape standing like a beacon behind looks in springtime hues, bright florals, and exciting shapes.
Courtesy of Loewe.
Courtesy of LOEWE, photo by Go Runway.
Miniature hems were shorter than ever, seen on a suite of dresses with a structured baby doll silhouette, coats that flared at the hems, and tiny brief-style shorts. Sculpture-like silhouettes appeared in the form of dresses with squared hips, unusual knits that engulfed the wearer like padded protective shields, and a series of looks that took the Anthurium form quite literally, with glossy iterations of its singular petal making up the bodice of dresses or details on handbags. We also saw trompe l’oeil graphics that looked like the pixelated clothing of video game characters, moplike footwear that appeared to be made from deflated balloons, and pieces made from drapery artfully frozen as though they were hung from invisible strings.
Edgar Mosa and Joe McShea
Courtesy of LOEWE.
Jonathan Anderson ventured far outside his typical LOEWE box with fall/winter 2022, shocking the fashion community with looks that shook Paris and beyond. In collaboration with artists Edgar Mosa and Joe McShea, an installation of more than 87 prismatic flags energized by Baroque frescos graced the catwalk. “What is real today?” asked the collection’s notes. “Perfection is fabrication, imperfection is erased, illusion and displacement are the coordinates.”
Courtesy of LOEWE.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
What followed were offerings that heightened those sentiments, including floor-sweeping sweater sleeves, heart cut-outs over breasts, tops with hoops and wires framing their cuts with exaggeration, oversized wiry “Smile” and “Hello” belts in gold, and dots of lights that illuminated coats. To say the least, the archetype of a man’s wardrobe was completely reimagined with a twist, allowing fur coats and jeans to pair, boxers to peek-a-boo under tops, dresses to protrude with trains in the front, and shoes in all shapes and styles to complement and contrast outfits with LED lights and rubber. Tote bags pared the collection back to a moderate place, with a nappa leather Cubi with sinkholes, a tall Amazona in a rectangular shape, a Flamenco clutch embellished with shells, and more. For this collection, LOEWE answered that absolutely nothing, yet everything at once, may be real today.
Magdalene Odundo, Akiko Hirai, and Jennifer Lee
“LOEWE Lamps,” courtesy of LOEWE.
During Milan Design Week in 2024, LOEWE presented “LOEWE Lamps”—an installation at the 18th-century Palazzo Citterio showcasing work from 24 international artists. Anderson championed ceramic creations by a parade of artists including Magdalene Odundo (Kenya), Akiko Hirai (Japan), and Jennifer Lee (UK).
“LOEWE Lamps,” courtesy of LOEWE.
“LOEWE Lamps,” courtesy of LOEWE.
“LOEWE Lamps” marked the first time many of the featured artists created lamps, opening them up to using a wide range of mediums and techniques—some even brand new to their creative practices. Playing with the pliability of materials like bamboo, birch twigs, and horsehair, artworks also explored the translucencies of paper and lacquer finishes, and the reflective natures of glass, leather, and ceramic.
Peter Hujar and David Wojnarowicz
Courtesy of LOEWE Foundation.
In 2018, Loewe hosted an exhibition at the LOEWE Gran Via gallery in Madrid devoted to artists Peter Hujar and David Wojnarowicz, curated by Anderson and the Loewe Foundation. The presentation showcased the landscape and creative energy of downtown Manhattan during the 1970s and ‘80s, embracing the house’s dedication to and enthusiasm for impactful contemporary art.
Coinciding, at Palacio de Linares, LOEWE hosted an installation of its “LOEWE Conversations” series between writer, humorist, and cultural commentator Fran Lebowitz and art consultant and patron Gracie Mansion. Lebowitz, a friend of Hujar’s and a mere first-hand expert on the topic, conversed with Mansion about New York’s historic moments that led to social, political, and artistic developments.
Loewe Foundation Craft Prize
Work by Andres Anza, Loewe Craft Prize 2024, courtesy of Loewe.
Established by Anderson in 2016, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize continues to mark the brand’s legacy in innovation and artisanry, while awarding other masterful creatives around the globe for their dedication to and experimentation with craft. Last year, a 13-person jury shortlisted 30 finalists from over 3,900 submissions by artisans from 124 countries and regions. Creations from many mediums—including ceramics, textiles, paper, woodwork, basketry, glass, jewelry, metal, leather, and more—exemplified modern craftsmanship and originality.
At the ceremony, the 2024 Loewe Craft Prize was awarded to the Mexican ceramic artist Andrés Anza for his life-size ceramic sculpture entitled I only know what I have seen. Measuring five feet tall, the tan-colored creation resembles an organic form, covered in small spikes made from individual points pulled up by hand. Alongside Anza’s work, the jury also awarded three special mentions to the Japanese jeweler Miki Asaï, the French ceramicist Emmanuel Boos, and the South Korean woodworker Heechan Kim. Work from 30 finalists appeared in an exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo.
Loewe Craft Prize 2024, courtesy of Loewe.
By way of close-knit and gracious partnerships, the singular Jonathan Anderson tenderly evolved LOEWE into a profound brand where fashion and contemporary art walk hand in hand, enhancing the cultural landscape and the spirit of the individual.
