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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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