By now, the Loewe Paula's Ibiza collection has become sort of an annual tradition. The collaboration with iconic Ibizan boutique Paula's—known for its vibrant expression of island life in the 1970s—has been a consistent reinvigoration of its archival prints as well as an encapsulation of unbridled joy. For the latest 2024 edition, Loewe takes it up a notch with a collection that takes it away from its island beginnings to a more urban setting while still retaining that carefree spirit.
To help bring the Loewe Paula's Ibiza collection to life, the brand employed the assist of six international creatives. Latin trap star Young Miko, American musicians Kevin Abstract, Yebba Smith and 070 Shake, Irish actress Alison Oliver, as well as Loewe global brand ambassador and NCT member TAEYONG, all embody the youthful energy of the collection that's made for summertime. Whether it's spent in the city, away on vacation or to countless music festivals, the collection has all the makings of the perfect summer wardrobe topped with a healthy dose of craft-centric accessories to boot.
Signature to every Loewe Paula's Ibiza collection is the use of prints. This time, Loewe introduces artist Douglas Abraham whose abstract prints consisting of dice, teddy bear and planet motifs are juxtaposed with the more naturalistic archival prints of flora and fauna. They're all applied onto the collection's ready-to-wear pieces including Loewe Anagram-branded T-shirts, roomy drawstring shorts, sweatshirts, and swimwear. Supplemented by an array of generally loose-fit tops and bottoms, ease and comfort inspired by a decidedly aesthetic are key tenets of the menswear portion of the Loewe Paula's Ibiza collection.
It's in the bags and accessories that Loewe's penchant for craft is highlighted. Woven basketry—a signature of the brand, especially when it comes to the Loewe Paula's Ibiza collection—reimagines the Puzzle bag and Puzzle Fold tote. The latter still retains its iconic flat, foldable characteristic despite being crafted from the stiffer raffia material. The Font tote and Iraca basket bag make their return in a slew of new colours in line with the ready-to-wear portion.
Loewe's leather mastery recontextualises its signature Flamenco design into a bucket bag silhouette that's crafted from nappa lambskin and with a solid base. Playful leather accessories complete the offering with charms and pouches shaped into animals such as a toucan and parrot, as well as tropical fruits.
There's no denying that every edition of the Loewe Paula's Ibiza collection thus far has been a joyous celebration of life and craft. The brand has also made sure that the communities involved in contributing their craft expertise too gain from the experience. As with every Loewe Paula's Ibiza collection, for every basket bag sold, Loewe will make a donation to the local communities who handweave them. These donations will then go towards providing university scholarships in Columbia, building a craft training school in Madagascar, and providing humanitarian relief following the 2023 earthquake in Morocco.
The Loewe Paula's Ibiza collection will be available in Loewe boutiques and online from 18 April 2024. View some of the bags, shoes and accessories of the collection in the gallery below.
Loewe isn't just a luxury fashion brand. It's a cultural brand that has—since under the creative directorship of Jonathan Anderson—instilled an even greater importance on craft, including from realms outside of the traditional fashion sphere. Through its many collaborations as well as in-house collections, Loewe continues to give prominence the skill of the hand from within its own studios as well as from cultures around the world.
It may seem like a marketing spiel, this idea of a luxury fashion brand being more than creating products to sell. Yet, the proof is in the way Loewe operates. Its social media platforms delve deeper into how a product is crafted by showing a brief run through of the process, while collection notes often detail the craft behind each collection. Separately, Loewe has its annual Loewe Foundation Craft Prize showcasing and awarding the many different works of craft the world over.
Crafted World is in itself a collaborative effort. The exhibition was designed in collaboration with famed design studio OMA with each thematic chapter varying in interactivity and scale. "Born from the Hand", for example, tells the story of Loewe's evolution from its leather-making roots to its current contemporary fashion leanings as seen through the showcase of key products such as first-edition signature bags to costumes made in collaboration with Anthea Hamilton. "The Atelier" quite literally transports visitors behind the scenes to discover the many steps needed to craft Loewe's most iconic bags, with the journey ending with a two-metre-tall recreation of the Howl’s Moving Castle bag. Along the way, Crafted World offers plenty of surprises including knee-high exhibits thoughtfully conceptualised for children to interact with.
And once visitors are done exploring the six thematic chapters, a specially curated gift shop filled with exclusive merchandise and books, lets the magic continue at home. But that's not all. Crafted World continues onto the courtyard with a number of Galician artisan Álvaro Leiro's reinterpretations of the traditional, fringed Galician raincoats woven from reeds, straw and briar.
The free-to-public exhibition comes as Anderson hit his 10-year mark as creative director of Loewe last year—a rarity in today's climate of creative directors not lasting more than three years. Plenty of credit should be given to the man for reinvigorating Loewe into one of the most exciting luxury brands out there; as should the artisans whose works are the cornerstone of Loewe. Crafted World does just that.
Crafted World runs until 5 May 2024 at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre before making its way around the world.
There's no doubt that Loewe is one of the hottest shows on any fashion week calendar. Not only do the stars come out in the droves to witness the fashion conceptualised by creative director Jonathan Anderson, the fanfare goes beyond the celebrity front rows—the fashion is actually inspiring and different.
For any confirmation of what the Loewe Autumn/Winter 2024 menswear collection will look like, stay tuned for the show this Saturday. And for an even closer look at the collection, follow @esquiresg on Instagram as we bring you the action live from Paris Fashion Week Men's.
What: Loewe Autumn/Winter 2024 menswear runway show
Where: Paris, France
When: Saturday, 20 January 2024 at 7pm Singapore time
The towering fountains by American artist Lynda Benglis weren't the only elements from the Loewe spring/summer 2024 menswear show that stood out on the runway. The moment the first model walked out—decked out in a completely crystallised look—it was certain that we were about to witness a show.
Although, if one was expecting nonplussed theatrics, it wasn't exactly that kind of a show. Sure, there were highly conceptual pieces peppered in between the 51-look collection—a number of tops fashioned as blown-up swatches of jacquard fabrics each complete with a dress pin, for example—but creative director Jonathan Anderson's work has been revolving around subtle theatrics of late.
As with the past couple of seasons, the Loewe spring/summer 2024 menswear collection was a focus on materiality set against familiar wardrobe staples. It was particularly a study of challenging perceptions; that the ordinary could be extraordinary by just a slight tweak. Crystal-embellished pieces were a common sight on denim and a slew of accessories from sunglasses to round-toe footwear. They dressed up what would've been classic striped shirts, jumpers, polos, and blazers.
Footwear merged ready-to-wear in a number of looks, blurring the lines between accessory and clothing. On the collection's leather jumpsuits—crafted in quite minimal fashion—hems quite seamlessly joined crepe soles.
The fit: Proportions were skewed in almost every look. Trousers were made to sit incredibly high on the waist—at least slightly above the belly button. The intent was to elongate legs, while at the same time, compressing the torso with tops intentionally tucked in, and in some cases, cropped to accommodate the distorted silhouette.
There was a sense of simplicity being not exactly that simple. Asymmetric cuts on knitwear drove the point of subtle-tweaking to achieve new forms, while still keeping to a relatively easy-to-wear colour palette.
The details: Anderson introduced the Loewe Pebble bucket bag. The name refers to the pebble-shaped Anagram-engraved hardware that acts as the bag strap's length adjuster. Available in suede and leather, the strap allows it to be both carried as a tote as well as comfortably draped across the body.
The collection's series of sunglasses echoed the glittery treatments that were key throughout. But unlike the ready-to-wear and a selection of bags and shoes, these were speckled with crystals instead of being completely drenched in them—perfect for anyone looking to make a relatively quieter statement.
Three exceptional looks: Look 10 may be a bit out there (and may not even be reproduced commercially) but captured multiple elements of the collection perfectly; look 16's glittery shirt and denim combination was easily the best of the lot; and look 47 that displayed Loewe's leather mastery.
The takeaway: It's always about proportions, even when you don't have the body of a model.
View the full Loewe spring/summer 2024 menswear collection in the gallery below.
