From its unexpected collaborations to its unmatched know-how of leather craftsmanship, the Spanish label has imbued luxury with heart and an artisanal sensibility
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Anderson’s muses range far and wide but tend to have one thing in common: They defy categorisation. For LOEWE’s fall/winter 2021 menswear collection, it was Tulsa-raised queer artist Joe Brainard who served as Anderson’s figure of inspiration. With traces of rave, punk and grunge, this collection is a subcultural patchwork of sorts. There is a poetic symmetry to both their practices—Brainard’s multi- disciplinary collage work mirrors Anderson’s penchant for bricolage. In particular, look out for the bags that now double as canvases for Brainard’s iconic pansies.
A t-shirt and Hammock bag featuring the works of Brainard
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There’s something undeniably quaint about embroidery. Its tactile texture juxtaposed against the overlocking stitch, for example, is the difference between a handwritten letter and a typed one. And how perfectly paired this is with the ethos of LOEWE, a house that is intently devout to the making and slowness of craft. You’ll see the art of embroidery gracing the surfaces of many a LOEWE product—from its classic Amazona bag to the more contemporary bucket hat—and it’s no surprise why.
Embroidered Flamenco bag, LOEWE
Anderson’s ethos on craft is far from a buzzword-led strategy. Walking the walk, the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize is the label’s way of championing artisans, makers and artists from all corners of the world since 2016. This year’s Prize was bagged by Beijing-based Fanglu Lin, whose unassumingly elegant work She is a whopping 6m-long sculpture made with ancient sewing methods from China’s Bai minority community. Alongside other competing works, She can be found exhibited digitally on The Room, a new virtual database of contemporary craftwork—and the latest tenet of LOEWE’s commitment to craft.
She by Fanglu Lin, the winner of the 2021 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize
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The hallmark of every heritage brand is its logo. For Anderson, this meant revisiting LOEWE’s original 1970 Anagram designed by Spanish artist Vicente Vela, and bringing it into the here and now. Updated by Paris-based graphic design duo M/M (Paris), the quadruple scrolling Ls that we now know and recognise take on a more streamlined, luxurious feel. From metallic insignias to perforated leather, the Anagram remains the embodiment of LOEWE’s identity.
The LOEWE anagram on a coin pouch
Marking the first collaboration between a luxury fashion brand and an auction house, LOEWE and Sotheby’s teamed up earlier this year as part of the Spanish maison’s commitment to craft. Enlisting the creative intuition of artisans around the world, LOEWE posed the humble chestnut roaster clay pot as the starting point for weaved works made from surplus leather. The pieces in this multi-disciplinary project, titled “LOEWE Weaves”, are as meditative as the technique itself, which features in everything from bags to bracelets to finely crafted raffia accessories.
Chestnut roasters reinterpreted by artisans as part of the LOEWE Weaves project.
LOEWE’s cult status may have permeated geographic boundaries, but its Spanish roots remain front and centre. Drawing inspiration from Andalusia’s native flamenco dress, the Flamenco is the House’s answer to an everyday drawstring bag that shape-shifts to suit its owner. Since its reintroduction for fall/winter 2021, its undulating waves of butter-soft nappa leather now come supersized and nanosized—rest assured, the latter is roomy enough to fit your phone. The colourways are of note too—pay particular attention to the fuchsia, chartreuse and sage, which add just enough interest to any ensemble.
Flamenco bags, LOEWE
As yet another effort to champion creativity and craft, the LOEWE Foundation and non-profit arts organisation Studio Voltaire joined forces earlier this year to tackle the effects of Covid-19 on the arts community. Through rent-free studio spaces, individualised mentorship and a year-long residency, the programme seeks to support under-represented artists. As creatives move into unprecedented uncertainty, such tangible support is more urgent than ever before.
An artist’s studio supported by the LOEWE Foundation and Studio Voltaire
No retrospective of Anderson’s time at LOEWE would be complete without a mention of the Puzzle. Marking his very first bag design a year into his appointment as creative director, the Puzzle bag epitomises the new age of LOEWE—as defined by Anderson. Made of spliced geometric fragments that unfold until the bag is flat, it subverts what we expect of leather handbags, turning the bag into a site of experimentation on form and construction. And as part of this year’s Gift Collection, the brand has us anticipating the Puzzle Hobo, a slouchier iteration of its famed predecessor.
Puzzle Hobo bag, LOEWE
Trust LOEWE to bring us the crossover of our dreams—Studio Ghibli loyalists, rejoice. As part of a special capsule collection, LOEWE has taken to its leather marquetry to celebrate Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 classic, My Neighbor Totoro. Alongside forest spirits and dust bunnies, the fan favourite character can be found gracing everything from hooded sweatshirts to the label’s most iconic bags—the Puzzle, the Balloon and the Hammock. It’s a perfect storm of animation meets fashion, and falls right in step with both Anderson and Miyazaki’s inner child and kindred respect for craft.
A Hammock bag from the LOEWE x My Neighbor Totoro collection
The namesake of LOEWE’s Goya bag may come as a surprise, given its minimal shape and refined finish—Spanish painter Francisco Goya’s paintings are far from minimal; they are macabre and unsettling, but undoubtedly arresttng. But what the Goya borrows from its eponymous artist is his rich use of colour. Translated into a saturated palette of reds, greens and yellows, the Goya comes embellished with a single metallic Anagram insignia. And to connect the past and present, the brand has aptly enlisted its global ambassador, K-pop artiste HyunA, to welcome this new addition to the LOEWE family.
Goya bag, LOEWE
The artisans of LOEWE are the lifeblood of the Spanish luxury leather house. Since its spring/summer 2016 offering in Paris, the brand has spotlighted the skilful touch of its artisans through the art of marquetry. The technique is deceptively simple, but requires laser-sharp precision—literally. Each leather piece is cut by laser, then hand assembled to form the vibrant two-dimensional visages we see in LOEWE’s final products. Marquetry at LOEWE is very much about the imaginative potential of leather, taking the form of graphic, illustrative visuals of creatives from Ken Price to Charles Voysey.
The marquetry technique used on bags from the LOEWE x Charles Voysey collection
The working woman’s uniform may have been categorically epitomised by power suits, but they were hardly the only sartorial sidekicks to rising stars in the 1970s corporate world. The Amazona, launched in 1975, was the quintessential work bag envisioned by LOEWE as the businesswoman’s companion. In celebration of the house’s 175th anniversary, the bag returns to the fall/winter 2021 runway with reworked elements that remain true to LOEWE’s storied heritage. Rendered in nappa calfskin and stamped with the label’s signature monogram, the Amazona is shorthand for a no-nonsense demand for a wardrobe that works with you, not for you.
Amazona bag, LOEWE
There’s no LOEWE without its storied legacy in leather. The label, after all, began in 1846 as a collective of artisans crafting leather and suede in Madrid. Having earned a reputation with the Spanish royalty as the go-to for impeccable leather goods, the House has retained its good name centuries on. With Anderson at the helm today, LOEWE’s offerings ground the brand firmly in the current age—with no signs of wavering its ties to leather.
A closer look at LOEWE’s leather savoir faire
If you have yet to pay a visit to Casa LOEWE Singapore, you’re in for a treat to the full LOEWE experience. The first in Southeast Asia, the store opened last October and transports the essence of Anderson’s vision for a home-meets-menagerie. Housing the label’s full range of women’s and men’s ready-to- wear, bags, small leather goods and home scents, the space doubles as an art gallery for all things LOEWE. From artfully selected furniture (yes, those are Utrecht armchairs) to works by international artists (look out for Josh Fraught’s tapestry), the store is every design fiend’s dream.
Casa LOEWE in ION Orchard
When LOEWE debuted its woven basket tote at its spring/summer 2017 show, the street style set spared no time in making raffia bags the accessory of the season. It was a new take on Jane Birkin’s literal basket and later reincarnation toted by the likes of French It girls Jeanne Damas and Camille Rowe. LOEWE’s iteration gained iconic status by way of it signature leather accents, of course. Today, its contrast-stitch straps and embossed insignia feel all the more transportive in travel-bound time.
Every holiday season, LOEWE looks to the works of an Arts & Crafts master to enrich its gifting collection. Eschewing the contemporary route, Anderson dives deep into the 19th-century British art movement that positioned craft and the human hand as the guiding ideals of design. This season, he turns to Charles Voysey, the British architect and designer whose richly patterned textiles—think birds, flowers and hearts—informed the capsule’s clothing and accessories.
A visual from the LOEWE x Charles Voysey lookbook
It seems micro bags are here to stay—at least, according to LOEWE. Take it from the long-time purveyor of quality bags made to last a lifetime. Its roster of iconic handbags have been shrunken to nano scale: Miniature yet functional versions of the Puzzle, Hammock, Gate, Flamenco and Balloon can now be found in an exclusive collector’s gift box. And as with every LOEWE endeavour, the attention to detail is unmatched. The box itself is adapted from traditional Japanese kiribako boxes and is sprucely tied with a sanada himo, a cord so strongly woven that it was commonly used by samurais to bind the handles of swords.
The Nano Bags Box Set, LOEWE
When a luxury leather goods house such as LOEWE has a surplus in leather, you can be assured that every last inch of its highly crafted material is put to good use. As part of The Surplus Project, the Spanish house upcycles its additional leather into a series of handcrafted Woven basket bags. By weaving two of LOEWE’s signature leathers—a smooth calfskin and a soft-grain calfskin—in lattice formation, the result is a mosaic of hues and textures.
A woven tote from The Surplus Project
The proof of LOEWE’s mastery in leather comes in many shapes, but perhaps the most whimsical of them all is the Elephant. A member of the House’s iconic range of zoology-inspired accessories, this signature shape is the result of decades of inherited savoir faire. From pouches to charms to phone cases, the art lies in the way classic calfskin has been folded to mimic the trunk of an elephant, then perforated to create its eyes. Impeccable craftsmanship is a given at LOEWE, but there’s more than enough room for playfulness too.
Elephant pouch, LOEWE
Looking to elevate your WFH experience? Look no further than LOEWE’s line of home scents. There’s nothing quite as evocative as a memorable scent and what better way to invite one into the LOEWE universe than with an earthy, herbaceous range of fragrances that smell just as good as they look? Some scents are more unexpected than others—think tomato leaves, coriander and beetroot. The candles are housed in seriously covetable ribbed ceramic cylinders, whilst the rattan diffusers, wax candleholders and home fragrances make for equally chic ornaments.
A candlestick from the LOEWE Home Scents collection
Brought to you by LOEWE
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