The story of Loewe, a Spanish luxury fashion house with a German name

Loewe was founded in Madrid in 1846 by a group of Spanish leather craftsmen. The brand emerged in 1876 when German craftsman Enrique Loewe Roessberg joined the group. He gave the company him name and the brand we know today was born. From that point on, it garnered unprecedented acclaim. But at the same time, confusion began.

It has become a Spanish brand with a German name, and in German the "w's" has a "v" sound, so despite the temptation to say it phonetically, the correct pronunciation is actually "lo-weh-wow." When the precision shown in leather craftsmanship was reflected in the products, the brand became highly appreciated by the upper-class women looking for fashionable and quality bag options.

Loewe, appreciated for its other products as well as the bags it produces, was awarded the title of chief supplier of the monarch and his entourage by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1905. In addition, Queen Victoria Eugenie, the wife of King Alfonso, frequently visited Loewe's stores on Príncipe de Madrid street at the beginning of the 20th century, increasing the brand's popularity within the royal body. The first London store opened in Mayfair's Mount Street in 1963.

In the 1970s, Loewe was expanding into perfume and fashion with the creation of the Loewe anagram logo designed by Spanish painter Vicente Vela. Giorgio Armani and Laura Biagiotti later designed Loewe's womenswear collections. In 1986 LVMH acquired the international distribution rights to Loewe. In 1996 it acquired Loewe entirely.

In 1997, Narciso Rodriguez joined the company as the new creative director. The brand made its first Paris runway presentation at LVMH headquarters in the fall/winter 1998 season. Both José Enrique Oña Selfa and Stuart Vevers followed. During Vever's tenure, Loewe downsized fashion to focus on an important souvenir business based on handbags, leather garments, leather picture frames and leather boxes.

In 1988, the grandson of the firm's creator, Enrique Loewe Lynch, founded the Loewe Foundation, a private cultural foundation that supports cultural events and exhibitions. Today, his daughter, Sheila Loewe, is president of the foundation that supports design and craftsmanship. The foundation received the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts from the Spanish government in 2002. Following the initiative of designer Jonathan Anderson, the Loewe Foundation Craft Award was established in 2017.

Jonathan Anderson became Loewe's creative director in 2013. Under the leadership of Jonathan Anderson, Loewe has managed to become a cultural force today, carrying on its legacy of craft and tradition. With the flawless execution and artistic touches that have formed the basis of the brand since its establishment, Loewe, combined with Anderson's modern design perception, has become an important lifestyle brand that keeps up with the pace of today's fashion world.

The first ready to wear collections for Loewe were presented in 2014. It also ran a series of promotional campaigns by Steven Meisel and Damien Ropero for still life she. Since 2014, Loewe's headquarters, including the previously based design team in Madrid, are located in Place Saint-Sulpice in Paris. The headquarters of the company remains in Spain. In particular, leather goods are produced in Getafe, near Barcelona and Madrid.

In 2018, as a result of a partnership with the brand Thélios, Loewe launched its first sunglasses collection designed specifically for women and men, with the signature of Creative Director Jonathan Anderson. Three styles stood out in particular in the Loewe Eyewear sunglasses series.

The Puzzle model, which bears signs of leather processing, which the brand sees as a heritage, almost contained Loewe's genes. Using acetate and metal skillfully in the design of the product, Anderson was inspired by the island of Ibiza in the composition he created for the model named Tyra. Finally, the model called Jinx completed the collection with its rectangular form, emphasizing the use of metal and leather together in a striking way.

Today, the mother of the current king of Spain, Queen Sophia and Queen Letizia Loewe, has used handbags to reveal how deep-rooted this brand is in the hierarchical order of Spanish society.