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It comes as no surprise that Jonathan Anderson is officially exiting his role at Loewe. No men’s show in July; an exhibition-like presentation in October; a long silence on his personal Instagram broken in recent days by a carefully curated retrospective of his best moments at the Spanish brand — the clues were everywhere.
But if the news is hardly a shocker for fashion insiders, it nonetheless lands with the gravitas befitting the contribution Anderson’s Loewe made, not only to coffers of owner LVMH, but to fashion writ large.
His Loewe came with a rarefied, high-brow aesthetic — both abstract and sensual. But what made Anderson different was more revolutionary than that: those who bought into his world were admitted to a club where belonging was proof of one’s ability to navigate a cultural maze, not just pull out one’s pocketbook, without it looking forced. The designer called Loewe a “cultural brand” and his first bag for the house was a manifesto of sorts: the Puzzle.
Over an 11-year tenure, Anderson became the ultimate designer-curator, using a wide range of activities — from collaborations with the artist Anthea Hamilton to outfitting the protagonists of Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” movie — to turn the brand into a gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art, in which every element is connected.
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To some degree, every creative director works in a curatorial mode, but Anderson is one of the few who has done so as an art curator would, with Loewe his playground. The designer — who saw how Miuccia Prada fused art and fashion when he worked in visual merchandising for la signora in the early stages of his career — has found a focus of his own. His dialogue with art is essentially an exploration of making — both things and ideas.
It was quite telling that Anderson’s last outing for Loewe, exactly one week ago, consisted not of a show, but an exquisite exhibition, a retrospective of sorts summing up his Loewe across the two floors of the Hôtel Pozzo di Borgo — formerly Karl Lagerfeld’s mansion — on Rue de l’Université. The collection featured a collaboration with the Josef and Anni Albers foundation: not a standard appropriation of motifs, but a foray into the art of making.
A modernising of craft, in a way that is both cultural and commercial, was essential to Anderson’s Loewe. See the Loewe Craft Prize and Anderson’s projects for Salone del Mobile, but also the way he revived basketry, turning simple palm leaf totes into money-spinning objects of desire by adding touches of leather and a bohemian Ibiza vibe.
It’s a hard act to follow for his replacement — or replacements — at Loewe. At the same time, one wonders if his approach to the brand makes sense for his next role, widely thought to be at the creative helm of Dior. It will be interesting to see how he approaches the challenge. He’s certainly a designer who is capable of reinvention.
Disclosure: LVMH is part of a group of investors who, together, hold a minority interest in The Business of Fashion. All investors have signed shareholders’ documentation guaranteeing BoF’s complete editorial independence.
