On the eve of the opening of this exhibition, LOEWE Luo Yiwei was the first to release a creative video titled “Luo Yiwei Pronunciation Challenge” on social media, with the participation of global spokesperson Yang Mi. The inspiration for the video is closely related to the brand history, and the pronunciation of the German word “LOEWE” is somewhat awkward, even evolving into various pronunciations.
But LOEWE does not shy away from this, instead using a humorous attitude as a creative opportunity to establish resonance with young consumers. The brand combines this fun “mistake” with the current popular short video challenge gameplay, and calls on people worldwide to actively participate and learn about this century old luxury brand.
In 1846, LOEWE originated from a small leather workshop in Madrid; 30 years later, Mr. Enrique Loewe Roessberg, who came from a craftsman background, named it. LOEWE’s pursuit of exquisite craftsmanship soon attracted the favor of a group of nobles and nobles, and was later awarded the official title of royal supplier by King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
LOEWE, which entered the 20th century, began launching a ready to wear collection and gradually opened multiple boutique stores, thus entering the stage of brand management. At the same time, the LOEWE Loewe family, who never forget their original intention, founded the LOEWE Loewe Foundation in 1988 with the aim of supporting the protection of cultural and creative heritage, as well as cultivating handicraft talents. They also established educational programs in the fields of poetry, dance, and craftsmanship.
The fusion of exquisite craftsmanship and creativity in products, coupled with the craftsmanship culture rooted in genes, has driven LOEWE’s influence to surpass that of Spain. However, the true transformation of LOEWE into a modern luxury brand began with its acquisition by LVMH Group in 1996.
With the support of this luxury goods giant, LOEWE has accelerated its global expansion pace. Jonathan Anderson, who joined in 2013, played a crucial role in this process. The two most crucial questions for a century old luxury brand to thrive in historical changes are to answer “who am I”, that is, to uphold the brand’s genes; And “where to go”, that is, how to combine with the times to give it a new life.
As Jonathan Anderson wrote in the preface of the “Fashion Unlimited” exhibition, “I joined LOEWE with a beautiful vision from the beginning: to break the brand between craftsmanship, art, and fashion. I hope that craftsmanship can be widely displayed like a science, thereby enhancing people’s shared understanding of the essence and potential of craftsmanship.” Looking back on his eleven years in office, he has created the “New LOEWE Loewe Aesthetics” with meticulous creativity from various aspects such as visual system, clothing strategy, and continuation of craftsmanship genes.
In terms of balancing creativity and business, Jonathan Anderson started with the ready to wear collection, combining the seriousness of high-end fashion craftsmanship, boldness, and creative concepts of fun pioneers, to establish a distinctive brand image for LOEWE. In this way, the 2023 spring/summer men’s clothing collection has seeded Chia seeds and catnip into fashion to create “long grass” items, and the 2024 spring/summer women’s clothing collection accessories and on-site installations have collaborated with artist Lynda Benglis, expanding the creative space of fashion expression through diverse artistic forms.
Regarding the creation of the most crucial “cash cow” in the luxury goods industry – handbags, Jonathan Anderson excels in reshaping and innovating LOEWE’s craftsmanship spirit from a contemporary perspective, including the Flamenco series with iconic knots and the Puzzle series inspired by geometric cutting, which have been repeatedly replicated in this exhibition, making the best-selling items a classic item that crosses the fashion cycle.
According to the popular brand list released by fashion e-commerce company Lyst last year, LOEWE has remained in the top five for four consecutive quarters, and won first place for the first time in the second quarter. It is not surprising that LOEWE, which takes product creativity as the cornerstone and utilizes methods such as co branding and celebrity marketing, has become the focus of the industry, but the brand still has more long-term considerations.
In terms of the continuation of brand craftsmanship genes, in 2016, under the initiative of Jonathan Anderson, the Loewe Foundation established the LOEWE Loewe Foundation Craftsmanship Award. This not only pays tribute to the origin of brand workshops, but also allows innovative talents in the fields of art and modern craftsmanship to be “seen”. The “Universe Artists” chapter in the exhibition is a concentrated presentation of award-winning works.
It is worth mentioning that the art installation “Entropy Reduction in Chaos” exhibited this time is from Huang Wanbing, a Chinese finalist in the 23rd year, whose works often combine traditional Chinese handicrafts with modern installation aesthetics; The monochrome glazed ceramic golden bell bowl series created by Deng Xiping, a representative inheritor of national intangible cultural heritage, has once again appeared in Crafted World after being exhibited at the Shanghai 21 Contemporary Art Expo in 2022. The monochromatic glaze art represented by this work is also the inspiration for the LOEWE Loewe 23 Early Spring collection handbags.
