Loewe is now the most popular fashion brand in the world. The fate of the fashion house, which could not make the leap that was expected for years, changed when Jonathan Anderson, one of the most talented designers of his generation, became the creative director.
According to the list announced by global fashion shopping and analysis platform Lyst, Loewe fashion house, whose creative director is Jonathan Anderson, overthrew Prada, which has been holding its throne for three quarters, and became the most popular fashion brand in the world in the second quarter of 2023.
Jonathan Anderson is an Irish fashion designer and the founder of JW Anderson. Anderson is known for his eponymous label and having served as the creative director of Spanish luxury house LOEWE.
Loewe's creative and androgynous designs that capture the spirit of the times, successful collaborations with animation studio Studio Ghibli, the red outfit worn by singer Rihanna during the Super Bowl halftime performance, and the hand motif body, silver cargo pants and 3D printed metallic Beyonce wore on her “Renaissance” tour. He became famous with his bra. He truly deserves this first place, as he combines conceptuality and aesthetics in his designs.
The Loewe Anagram white blouse, which we are used to seeing on Kylie Jenner in the videos and photos she shares on social media platforms, and the raffia basket bag we come across in influencers are also in the first and fourth rows of Lyst's most popular products list. This situation makes us realize once again how social media affects people's shopping preferences.
Although trends, celebrities and influencers shape our purchases, knowing the history of the product's brand or the story behind the creation makes the shopping process more valuable. Then let's explore the journey of Loewe brand and designer Jonathan Anderson to this success together.
According to Jonathan Anderson, luxury fashion houses are established according to two different cores: The first core is the houses that are built around the name of the designer and his sense of fashion. For example, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Christian Dior. These fashion houses create more couture clothes and high fashion. The second is fashion houses that develop around leather products, such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and Loewe. These create designs with the experience and discipline of craftsmanship.
The history of Loewe fashion house dates back to 1846. Founded by German-born Enrique Loewe (the German word “Loewe” means lion) and designing luxury leather goods, the main customer of the company is the Spanish royal family. While selling only leather products until 1965, it created its first ready-to-wear collection that year, but could not achieve the success it wanted and could not enter the international arena. It reaches its target popularity only in 1975 with its Amazona bag, which represents the woman who started working life.
The first job made Loewe more dynamic
Acquired in 1996 by LVMH, which is known for making profits by incorporating deep-rooted fashion houses and turning them into luxury companies, Loewe is one of LVMH's least profitable brands, despite many different creative directors, failing to achieve the targeted success.
Jonathan Anderson, who made a name for himself in the fashion industry with his androgynous personal collection (JW Anderson Fall 2013) and successive collaborations with Uniqlo, Topshop, and Versus by Versace, entered LVMH's radar in 2013. LVMH makes the right decision by handing over its oldest "conservative" brand, which is in decline, to young avant-garde designer Jonathan Anderson.
As soon as Irish Anderson is appointed creative director, his first job is to make Loewe more dynamic, and he starts with a logo change. The clever and disciplined designer integrates Loewe's deep-rooted leather craftsmanship and quality leather materials into his own brand, JW Anderson (not to mention the Pierce Bag trend). Let's make a note. In the history of design, there are very few people who can run both their own brand and a fashion house together. We can count Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, and John Galliano.
At the British Fashion Awards 2015, the most prestigious event of the fashion industry, the best designer is selected for both men and women at the same time, and it always brings popularity and success to the Loewe and JW Anderson brands, which he has been the director of over the years. If we talk about the successes, especially on the side of JW Anderson; The patchwork style cardigan worn by Harry Styles during the pandemic period is so liked by Gen-Zs that it goes viral on social media platforms. Subsequently, JW Anderson publishes a detailed DIY (do it yourself) video on how to knit the cardigan on his YouTube channel, with a strategy that has never been tried by any fashion brand before. The viral pigeon bag we saw in Carrie in the second season of “And Just Like That…” is also signed by JW Anderson.
Let's go back to the Loewe story: Anderson, who integrated androgyny and modern silhouettes into the brand in 2013, feels the change in fashion perception after the arrival of Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga and Raf Simons at Prada, and from 2022 the brand is more conceptual, experimental and begins to create figurative designs. In the manifesto of the 2022 spring/summer collection, which symbolizes Loewe's rise to a new level, we actually see the usual designer-artist collaboration. But designer Anderson, inspired by the works of Florentine artist Jacopo Pontormo, creates an avant-garde and minimal collection filled with unique, innovative materials.
Modern techniques for leather
In the fall/winter 2022 collection, he creates a surrealist collection created with 3D-printed, ballooned details that is still talked about and enjoyed today. The most interesting thing in the collection is the processing of Loewe's unique leather with modern techniques.
We are coming to 2023… Dresses, busts, and 3D clothes hanging in the air are so popular at this year's fashion show that they are the pieces preferred by model Emily Ratajkowski, and actresses Jennifer Lawrence, and Emma Watson to wear at events. At the same time, the pixel-looking sweatshirt and pants were designed with inspiration from the Minecraft game, both on the rapper A$AP Rocky, who has been the face of the Loewe brand since 2019, in the photo shared by Marc Jacobs on his 60th birthday, and on the designer Pharrell Williams. We see it as a source of inspiration in many pieces in the collection prepared for Louis Vuitton.
Jonathan Anderson brought Loewe to the top with an innovative and creative approach and the right marketing strategies. One of the industry's biggest talents, Anderson added art, beauty, and a bit of populism to his house, and now everyone, not just the Spanish royal family, wants a piece of Loewe. The data shared by Lyst is proof of this.