admin If Matthieu Blazy is the “magician of Milan,” then Jonathan Anderson is the art kid that always keeps you guessing of Paris — or, technically, Madrid, where Loewe’s based. (It doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as nicely.) Over the past decade, he’s transformed the Spanish heritage brand into something else entirely, a house of innovation and playfulness and surprise: One season, he’ll incorporate anthuriums into dresses and bra tops, the next, he’ll obsess over trompe-l’œil clothing.
Still, Loewe’s a house of craftsmanship, and that’s at the root of everything it creates. The Spring 2024 collection emphasizes this a bit more explicitly, less concerned with virality and gimmicks (not that that’s what Anderson goes for — he’s just… very good at having it happen), and more so with highlighting the brand’s capabilities, especially when it comes to knitwear and leather.
There’s still a lot of humor, but it’s subtler — a quick, wink versus a nudge: disproportionally large hardware buttons on dramatically oversized cardigans, a needle in the place of a belt threading the front of a trouser or skirt, a coat that swoops up and across the shoulder into a tote bag. Whereas for fall, Anderson played with shape and material to a “Polly Pocket”-esque degree, for spring he seems more interested in extraordinary ordinary pieces: exquisite sweaters, elegant tie tops, tiered mini skirts with trains spilling out on one side.
There are a handful of propositions that stand out as true show pieces, that one can imagine stylists will clamor to secure for their editorial shoots or for their clients to wear to the next runway show, such as a cage top made up of collaged. crystal-embellished florals and a dress with thin strands that follow the bubble hem to create a sort of “contained fringe” effect. The crystalized flats will surely be the retail hit, coming soon to a TikTok feed near you. But even the handbags, like the clothes, reflect this preoccupation with the reality of how people dress: The roomy shoulder bags are something any affluent customer with places to go and people to see would want in their everyday life.
This follows in an underlying trend we’ve seen across cities this season, of designers not really concerning themselves with kickstarting a trend or landing the next viral sensation, and instead putting all their effort into making clothes people will actually wear and will also desire. Not everyone’s been successful at it, but if there’s one thing Anderson has proven, it’s that he can sell.
See the full Loewe Spring 2024 collection below.
