Back in March, Paris was saturated with images of the always-stunning Gisele Bündchen in mini plaid number; face partially obscured by toasty hat and legs sheathed in tall boots. Behind her, a suspended black ‘cloud’ made from over 9,000 silk ribbons. The photograph is by celebrated photographer, Steven Meisel.
The aforementioned was one of three images released to tease the campaign. Second in line was one from Steven Meisel’s series of artworks titled “Compositions”, which depicts a group pf objects ranging from precious to ordinary. The last of the three featured Loewe’s geometrical favourite: the Puzzle bag. In it, the angular structure of the bag is mollified with cottony clouds set against blue skies.
500 Parisian news kiosks were decorated with the three images while a fourth was reproduced 3,000 times over and passed out as flyers in the French capital. Giselle Bündchen stars again, alongside the memorable hat with the toast.
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On the runway, the initial unveiling of the Loewe Fall Winter 2017 collection was done while shrouded in darkness. With poetic retrospect employed, one could imagine that the choice of staging the show in such dim conditions was so that the clothes themselves could bring enlightenment.
“I wanted a narrative, a sense of drama, of heightened emotion,” claimed the designer in an adrenaline-fueled state post-show. Jonathan Anderson, the man at the helm of both the men’s and women’s lines at Loewe, his own eponymous label, and not to mention numerous other collaborative projects he must have his fingers stuck in, has never once showed signs of slowing down. Even with a reason to the atmosphere as aforementioned, the seemingly rhymeless unleashing of his creative reserves for this lineup left some pundits puzzled. They were, regrettably, looking at the wrong picture: the big picture.
We think Anderson’s narrative was woven together in parts—single, small, self-contained episodes that succinctly tell their own story, grazing neighbouring timelines while remaining unaffected all the same. Once you look at it that way, the ensembles come to life. Each dress is imbued with so much detail that it beckons fastidious inspection. Polka dots, the most naive of prints, are smocked into a grid that reassembles the original; plaid is sliced and spliced on tangents for newness; moulded leatherwork recall the slashed sleeves and peplums of old; cosy wool is evocatively finished with a blanket stitch; collars are gilded with engravings borrowed from book-binding techniques; some fabrics melt into one another and others stand in stiff contrast.
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It’s an ode to art and this author’s craft warrants a few rereads. Have a closer look at the wonderful details above and grasp a better context from the full collection below.
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Shop the collection now. Available both online and in stores.
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