Last week, fashion house LOEWE joined brands from across the world at Milan Design Week to debut its latest design series focused on craftsmanship. Recalling its 2022 presentation of woven baskets, the maison highlighted spectacular artisanal weaving techniques through the form of the chair at the Palazzo Isimbardi in the exhibition “LOEWE Chairs.”
Courtesy of LOEWE.
Installed in the outdoor courtyard was an ensemble of chairs, perched on low-standing pedestals. The presentation began with the form of the stick chair (a simplistic construction dating back to the 10th century), each made unique by a skilled craftsperson. Their spindled forms were wrapped and woven in a number of materials like leather, raffia, shearling, and even the foil used to make thermal blankets, showcasing how everyday objects have the potential to be transformed into thoughtful, inventive specimens of craft.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
Totaling 30 chairs altogether, 22 were restored antique models, while eight were imagined entirely anew for the occasion. This included designs like a chair with the lower half of its spindles woven in blue material that ended in fringe, one covered entirely in loops of rainbow raffia, a silver pom-pom-reminiscent variation, a chair with white and blue teddy fur, and a pair covered in colored felt that appeared almost like a second skin.
Intermingled with the chairs, the maison also invited the Belgian designer Vincent Sheppard to imagine a series of paper loom chairs for the exhibition, looking at this unique-but-durable weaving method that dates back to the start of World War I in the United States. While similar in form, Sheppard’s chairs utilized this patented technology to create seats with natural fibers and leather, including a particularly playful design painted like a spotted variation of fungus.
On view throughout the exhibition was a series of accessories and leather goods by LOEWE directly inspired by the chairs, incorporated into the staging at the palazzo. For sale exclusively during the run of the show, we saw pieces like a silver pompom purse, a black woven basket bag, and a suite of pieces in mushroom-inspired polka dots looking to Sheppard’s designs.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
Courtesy of LOEWE.
