October 2, 2020 |
Leaning into the show-in-a-box concept pioneered for his eponymous label, Jonathan Anderson presented his SS21 Loewe collection as an interactive exhibition, made up of imposing, life-sized images of the looks and a wallpaper design produced in collaboration with the artist Anthea Hamilton.
The whole thing arrived in a box, complete with wallpaper paste, scissors and brush. Imagine a high-fashion version of changing rooms, enabling fashion enthusiasts to transform their WFH environment into a glorious Loewe-scape. In an accompanying video, the designer spoke of wanting to re-contextualise fashion and to make the viewer participate in the experience.
The collection was designed in lockdown, and all that isolation made Anderson yearn for the human touch. His response was to celebrate the art of fashion and lavish this collection with hand-made details including criss-cross sequinned bodices and woven leather corsets and capes. Research into historical dress inspired an inventive use of boning – not on bodices but on hems to give them an exaggerated improbable flounce. Along with puffed-up balloon hems and sleeves, the silhouettes were deliberately dramatic. Anderson wanted to make the wearer, “escape into clothing” and “become something.” Noble intentions. Noble results.
Photography by Thue Nørgaard.
