The rumour mill in fashion has long been whispering, nay, shouting about a seismic shift of the creative director seat at the Spanish luxury house Loewe. And this morning, the long suspected news broke: after a decade at the helm of the brand, the British designer Jonathan Anderson is stepping down as creative director, leaving a glittering legacy in his wake.
His surrealist designs transcended the runways (think broken-egg heels), his knack for craft transformed the luxury industry (nothing beats a Loewe Puzzle bag) and his sense for harnessing the power of celebrity culture - in a way that only he could conceive of - has created a blueprint for working with A-listers that other luxury behemoth companies desperately try to follow suit.
That fashion and celebrities are intrinsically intertwined is no secret. One only has to attend fashion week once to understand that the true phone-up moments don’t always come courtesy of the collections, but most definitely always because of a star-studded front row. While in the curious case of Mr. Anderson, the former and the latter have the selfsame effect (yes, he’s that good), the A-list-runway synergy was an undeniably benefitting factor in the success of his 10-year Loewe tenure, creating internet-breaking moments that - for once - united the fashion folk unanimously in their adoration (or, erm, fangirling) for the brand, and put his ready-to-wear into the same spotlight that his famed leather accessories previously basked in on their own.
And it’s important to call it a synergy as nothing here felt transactional. It wasn’t a step-and-repeat and quick wave, before jetting off to the next commercial deal. No, Anderson’s collaboration with his Hollywood cohort helped propel Loewe to superbrand status, and, at the same time, cemented the new faces of show business in the collective consciousness of shoppers, whilst bestowing upon them an instant fashion credibility.
No bones about it, Loewe created red-carpet stars and being tapped by the label became a right of passage and a form of self-expression: from Ayo Edebiri and Josh O’Connor, to Drew Starkey, Taylor Russell, Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall, Greta Lee, Zendaya (who could forget her Challengers tennis ‘tour-drobe’?), Celine Song and Emma Corrin - to name but a few - the creation of super well-dressed A-listers and the revolution of red-carpet moments is something we have to thank Anderson for.
Sprinkle in a few industry heavy-hitters - the late Dame Maggie Smith, Daniel Craig, Meg Ryan, Beyoncé et al - who needed no added credibility but had always lived on the designer’s mood boards and looked perplexingly right in his out-of-the-box designs, and events like the 2024 Met Gala, which was sponsored by the Madrid brand and saw boldface names like Ariana Grande and Anna Wintour swathed in the artisanal designs, and you have the most authentic formula for a brand-celebrity-liaison.
Keep scrolling for the best Loewe red-carpet looks from Jonathan Anderson’s tenure at the brand.
