Building a new brand narrative requires many steps - it happens slowly, piece by piece. Maybe that complex process is what Jonathan Anderson of J.W Anderson fame (the new creative director of Loewe) was hinting at with all those Meccano references that littered his debut collect for the brand. Either way, there was something so visually satisfying about those cheery primary hues and simple almost cartoony shapes. They're a good symbol for the way Anderson seems to be going about his Loewe transformation - by stripping back, cleaning up and modernising the Loewe signatures. So the classic Flamenco bag had been updated with simple knots on the end of its draw strings, rather than those out-dated tassels, while the ready-to-wear focused on bohemian yet humble clothes like turned up jeans and canvas shirts. These effortless, summery pieces echo the lazy, anti-fashion vibe of Loewe's new adverts which feature an archive 1997 Vogue Italia editorial by Steven Meisel starring Maggie Rizer and Kristen Owen and suggest that, for Anderson, luxury means simplicity and ease rather than opulence and richness, hence those super light flat-pack bags.
While Anderson was citing child's play with that Mecanno, there's nothing naive or basic in his strategy. This was a confident debut, marked with endless online build-up (Anderson is partial to an Instagram) and a huge cross-Paris campaign that saw the collection announced via every billboard in sight. Loewe is back.
