From the House of Loewe: perforated, lightweight leather for Spring 2013
Despite their varied savoir-faire, iconic fashion houses such as Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Dior, Oscar de Renta and countless others, all share a common trait: the heart of the house and the foundations on which it is built, stem from one man or woman, one designer who dreamt up their vision of beauty and whose dream lives on today.
166 years ago, Loewe was founded by Enrique Loewe Roessberg, but Loewe (pronounced Low-ey-ve) has never been about one designer in particular, even though its Creative Director for the past four years, Mr. Stuart Vevers, is quite the industry darling. Loewe has always been bigger than any one person, Loewe’s foundation, is quite simply the soil it stands on: Spain.
One of the oldest purveyors of leather goods in the world, Loewe is also possibly the only luxury house to come out of the country that gave us El Greco, Goya, Picasso, Cervantes, Dalí, García Lorca, Buñuel, and Almodóvar.
Our interview with Loewe’s Creative Director and accessories virtuoso Stuart Vevers takes place in the Paris showroom on rue François 1er towards the end of Paris Fashion Week. Though Loewe indulges in opulence, the showroom welcome is unpretentious. When we do catch a glimpse of Vevers, he is surrounded by a small swarm of pretty Asian journalists, all holding up their Iphones to capture Vevers, unphased, as he describes the craft applied to the embossed and perforated MA-1 flight jacket—a hit from the Spring 2013 RTW collection and his personal favorite. Vevers looks over and smiles apologetically for any delay, but we don’t mind as we are in a sort of trance, absorbed entirely by the heady scent of leather wafting through the showroom. When Vevers does sit down on the plush couch surrounded by bay windows to speak with us, we instinctively want to reach out and touch his arm. Like Loewe, he has an aura of familiarity about him and a sense of self-assurance that he generously extends to the company he keeps, rather than leaving one uneasy, Vevers’ smile is friendly and inviting.
Stuart Vevers’ career began at Calvin Klein and he soon went on to work at Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, and Louis Vuitton. But it was his appointment at Mulberry as Creative Director in 2005 that saw Vevers’ talents for accessories blossom. Simply put, the man knows how to design a bag—a must-have bag. In 2006, he won the British Fashion Council’s Accessory Design of the Year award and in 2007 Loewe opened its heavy wooden doors to him, brazos abiertos.
It is clear from his recent collections that Vevers is more enamored with Spain than ever. Spanish culture tends to charm outgoing expats and it would appear that Vevers is no exception to this rule. The Spanish movida has seduced him and in return he is keeping the luxury brand not just on a pedestal but also at the forefront of technique.
Vevers understands that to many Spanish men, wearing a Loewe tie or being gifted with a Loewe briefcase is a sartorial symbol of achievement. An emblematic Loewe design feature is the acorn—symbolic for the implication that from these grow mighty oaks.
One woman recounts of a time during the Franco dictatorship when the glorious Loewe store windows acted as beacons of hope during an impoverished era. Even today as the country experiences upwards of 25% unemployment, Spaniards cling to one of their few symbols of luxury. In 2009, a Loewe customer gifted archivists with two cherished bags dating from the darkest days of the Franco regime, she shared that at the time it was rarely safe to walk the streets alone and so her husband recreated the Loewe windows in the privacy of their apartment to give her somewhere safe to dream.
We ask Vevers, if we are to buy one signature piece from Loewe, what would that be? “A bag.” He states, without any hint of hesitation. “Bags are what the House is known for and it is what we do best.” It is also what he does best though he is increasingly tempting us with his garments and we can’t help wonder how we would look flaunting a pair of lightweight leather palazzo pants casually strolling through El Retiro park. “I often go back to Gala”. He responds referring to Dali’s libertine wife. “And of course, Paloma Picasso. I’ve always admired her red lip.”
Effectively, Loewe beats to the pulse of its countrymen’s hearts. Post-Franco, in 1975, Loewe launched the Amazona handbag, sporty and unlined, it was embraced on both sides of the ocean as a symbol of liberty. It proudly displays the Loewe insignia, four baroque Ls locally referred to as el cangrejo (the crab), the Amazona has since become a House icon.
Surprisingly for someone as traveled as Vevers, who has lived in all four fashion capitals, he has yet to visit the United Arab Emirates even though the Dubai Mall has recently opened a Loewe boutique. “I hope to visit before the start of 2013. I like to meet Loewe clients face to face.” Vevers assures.
Many comparisons have oft been made between the Arab and Spanish cultures. In the Middle East, we have a greater understanding of how things are made than one might believe and we certainly have an appreciation for building time-honored brands founded in the hearts and minds of its countrymen.
