LOEWE FW21 Celebrates the Return of Dressing Up
Creative Director, Jonathan Anderson, has described the LOEWE FW21 collection as ‘clothing in theatre’. The bright hues and abstract silhouettes break from the typical LOEWE formula, and take inspiration from the end of lockdown prompting a renaissance in fashion, and the joy of dressing up. With the return of restaurants, parties, vacations, and life, the lifting of lockdowns means a rediscovered joy in dressing up.
“I think fashion is going to be important in the next while, in making people gain confidence of going back out and dressing up again. The whole point of this collection is: Believe it, and it will happen”
Playing upon this narrative of lockdowns, and given the virtual setting of the show, Anderson and his team structured it around cancellation; a topic the world has been all too familiar over the past year. With the production of a newspaper, headlined by ‘THE LOEWE SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED’, the team created an entire newspaper, distributed around the world, with an exclusive extract from Danielle Steel’s upcoming novel, The Affair. The newspapers form a literary backdrop to the virtual show, stacked in towers around which the collection walks, contrasting the tangibility of literature against the abstract online setting.
The clothes themselves are both playful and experimental, with a strong focus on drapes, tassels, tailoring, and folds executed with colour and pattern. Geometric silhouettes and surfaces, knots and twists, statement buckles debossed with leather, boyish suede shoulders and statement sleeves. The boyish edge continues with a blown-up abstraction on male shoes, with moccasin platforms and 17th century inspired leather buckles.
The accessories additionally accentuate the joy of the collection, with a come-back of the iconic 1975 Amazona Bag, now available in nappa calfskin with anagram jacquard variations. Knotted and twisted jewellery creates a continuation from the bags, with striking gold given the perception of soft, supple nappa. The collection also launches the XL Flamenco clutch, a eye-catching piece blown-up in statement leather, and the ‘birth of a new icon’ with the Goya bag; timeless like a piece of jewellery.
Anderson has described the psychedelic influences as ‘colour therapy’, celebrating the euphoric abilities of fashion on our mood and confidence, as the world reopens and playing dress-up resumes.
