Tinsel attraction and a pact with plastic – J. W. Anderson catches our attention for another season with Loewe. 
Tinsel town
The most striking elements of Loewe SS16 of course lie with Jonathan Anderson’s use of hologram metallics, broken shards of mirror and exaggerated silver tinsel detail. And who knew you could put such luxury into transparent plastic? Anderson has said he aims to “sharpen the edge”, and this season is a perfect example of his stylistic innovation leaving a stamp on the old school fashion house. Plastic wrap trousers, as well as silver metallic trousers reflected off a multitude of lights, brightening up otherwise simple blacks and whites. It’s a product of 2016 meeting halfway in-between (very stylish) futurism – it was believable; a realistic take on what we’d want to wear if we were projected into a future dimension. By no means was this a collection characterised by space-age though, and Anderson’s random injections of pastel yellows, pinks and purples combined with beiges and suede tans reminded us of that fact.
That Loewe-go
On a side note, it was impossible to miss the exaggerated Loewe logo seeping in and out of the collection as it rolled off the runway. Remade as a print fabric, it was seen making up the bigger parts of some outfits on dresses, trousers and bomber jackets. And alongside this running motif, nothing Anderson does pulls a collection together better than his cleverly positioned jewellery and accessories. Bold, colourful and metallic, bangles and statement earrings and necklaces finished off the job with help from the puzzle bag which has been lapping up attention in its own right. For a designer who is keen not to keep everything matching, this collection is a prime example of that trademark at play: from Anderson’s loveable yet illogical colour scheme, to his use of fearlessly odd earrings and deliberately mismatched shoes.
The Loewe we know
Anderson has got the Loewe woman on lockdown – he has ever since he first joined the company three seasons ago. She’s confident, defiant and loves making statements with unpredictable colour. She also gets bored – and Anderson is always striving to keep up with the modern female fashion consumer. He takes Loewe – an old, Spanish luxury leather brand – and begins to question how he can innovate the idea of leather into new types of a second skin. His response is PVC and moulded synthetics; manmade creations that replace as well as work alongside the trusted leather component. All round, his relentless boundary-pushing, not only in materials, but how they all work together is a total success and will certainly become a big inspiration for many.
Words: Hannah Sargeant