Loewe Unearths Eroticism in Nature

Jonathan Anderson explores modern design within nature for Loewe’s Spring/Summer 2023 Ready-to-Wear Show

The scene at Loewe is the stark white interior of the equestrian arena of La Garde Républicaine in Paris, centered around a massive construction of a strikingly red anthurium flower that sprouts out of the gleaming white floors of the arena. The collection is anchored not only by the imagery of the anthurium, but the almost modern design of this completely natural lifeform, so dramatic and specific in its shape that it almost seems to deny reality. The anthurium is physically realized through painted enamel breastplates, sculpturally wrapping around bodies, and as adornments on shoes and handbags. Creative director of the Spanish fashion house, Jonathan Anderson, has chosen to base the Spring Summer 2023 collection around a flower that is erotic in its form, prompting a lustful tide throughout the show. 

Anderson’s use of sculptural silhouettes has returned, showing dresses with exaggerated waistlines jetting out at the waist in a Victorian spirit, while others consist of draped fabric held up in sharp points by wire structures, creating the effect that the dress is hovering down over the model. Mini dresses with sky high hemlines have been extremely shrunken, as have cropped jackets that cling close to the body. 

The balloon motif from Loewe’s Fall 2022 collection is referenced again for the spring footwear, present in both a deflated state that entirely engulfs a pair of pumps, as well as in a pair of inflated rubber pumps. There is a palpable tension in conflicting volumes where Anderson is striking gold exploring the inbetween.

Loewe has become a masterclass in the surreal, constantly questioning the reality of nature, the internet, and their relation to one another. Anderson’s past references to the metaverse are made present in this collection by the two almost jarring trompe l’oeil looks that imitate pixelation — these looks cause a pertinent glitch in the show that is inspired largely by forms in nature. 

Time and time again, Anderson expands on the modernization of surrealism through exaggerated forms, delightfully perverse motifs, and abstract materialization. Whereas his work at JW Anderson is more of a playground, Loewe is a platform for Anderson to show off his cleverly refined commentary on the present state of the world — thriving as he experiments with chic absurdity.

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