Better than anyone, Jonathan Anderson, artistic director of the Loewe house and founder of his brand JW Anderson, has put, in a dematerialized decade exhilarated by likes and selfies, tactile pleasure and the taste for beauty at the center of fashion. Even when his clothes were made inaccessible by an imposed physical distancing, he was able to maintain contact with his community with rare inventiveness (creation of a newspaper instead of a parade, wallpaper kit to “pimp” a interior where we ended up spending too much time…).
An avid reader of novels and collector of art and objects, Anderson has infused his culture into referenced collections that have enabled this Northern Irish middle-class child, son of a professional rugby player and a English and French teacher, an express rise in the highest spheres of the luxury industry and at Loewe in particular, a venerable Spanish house, owned by LVMH since 1996.
His artistic inspirations, reworked in his own way, enrich or distinguish very realistic pieces.
Since its inception, its fashion has been nourished by its favorites (even if they are not textiles), androgyny, references to plastic artists (Joe Brainard, Giles Round, Gilbert & George), geometric contrasts (balloon sleeves , pleated skirts, triangle or puzzle bags), with homoerotic subtext. Conceptual? Maybe, but it still offers dresses, skirts, jeans, sweatshirts, sweaters, bags, trench coats, joggers or sneakers – only practical. No discomfort or free pageantry, no suits for men, no gala dresses for women.
His artistic inspirations, reworked in his own way, enrich or distinguish very realistic pieces. Grained leather for bags and small leather goods, dry denim for its wide pants with thick cuffs, soft fleece sweatshirts, sequined dresses … All produced with very high-quality artisanal care, similar to that of ceramics, enamels or glass sculptures which he rewards through the Loewe Craft Prize, a prize that this enthusiast of the British decorative Arts and Crafts movement, which was burgeoning under the Victorian era, imagined in 2016.
Cumulard (besides his brand JW Anderson and the creation of the Loewe house, he collaborates regularly with Uniqlo and Moncler), he says that craftsmanship is one of his greatest interests and that he has made it cornerstone of Loewe’s very identity. This is expressed again this year in the Loewe Weaves project which explores weaving as a decorative art and as a structure of matter, with in the lead role… a Galician chestnut roaster. This sublime pierced terracotta pot allows all kinds of embellishments with raffia, rope, etc. and find a way to inspire home bags and accessories.