How Jonathan Anderson Turned LOEWE Into the  Coveted Fashion Brand

How Jonathan Anderson Turned LOEWE Into the Coveted Fashion Brand

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From fine art-inspired fashion to cinematic costume design, Jonathan Anderson turned LOEWE into a global luxury label, while paving the way for his next big move

Fashion thrives on a good shake-up, and no one stirs the pot like creative directors with globe-spanning influence. The latest buzz centers on Jonathan Anderson, the creative responsible for LOEWE’s evolution into a modern luxury powerhouse.

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After more than a decade at the helm, Anderson is rumored to be eyeing a move—potentially to Dior. This speculation follows the also rumored entry of Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez into LOEWE, fueling intrigue about the industry’s ever-shifting creative landscape.

Jonathan Anderson

Anderson, who recently nabbed Designer of the Year at the 2024 British Fashion Awards, is a cultural architect, weaving his way through LOEWE, his namesake label JW Anderson, UNIQLO collaborations, and costume design for Luca Guadagnino films, Challengers and Queer.

Revolutionizing Spanish Luxury

When Anderson took the helm at LOEWE in 2013, the Spanish luxury house was known for its leather goods but lacked a distinct identity. Anderson changed this, injecting LOEWE with fine art sensibilities, exaggerated silhouettes, and a tactile feast of sumptuous leathercraft. Oversized totes became cult favorites, buttery-soft garments blurred the lines between elegance and whimsy, and a deliberate embrace of tasteful yet minimal branding elevated LOEWE’s branding.

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Nicole Kidman’s mother-of-pearl look
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His designs are instantly identifiable, from the surreal, like oversized leather anthuriums, to the animated, like the famed puzzle bag. Anderson also infused the brand with an appreciation for craftsmanship and timelessness, while keeping it sharply relevant.

Witty Marketing That Made a Mark

LOEWE’s marketing campaigns under Anderson have been nothing short of genius. The Aubrey PLaza and Dan Levy-led video that hilariously taught us how to pronounce the label’s name—“Lo-WEH-vay”—became an instant touchpoint. There was the cheeky campaign starring Taylor Russell with a makeup brush and a stiletto heel, further proving that LOEWE’s identity is as much about humor as it is about high fashion. Then, there were the otherwise eyebrow-raising dressing room videos where it teetered on the edge of voyeurism.

F/W23 Campaign with Taylor Russell

These campaigns pushed traditional luxury marketing elsewhere, incorporating irreverence with sophistication, thus making LOEWE approachable yet aspirational. They carved out a unique niche, connecting with younger, meme-loving audiences without alienating the brand’s core clientele.

Niche Collaborations That Define Cool

From Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away collections to a partnership with the Kyoto-based ceramic studio Suna Fujita, Anderson’s collaborations transformed LOEWE into a curator of global creativity.

LOEWE x Suna Fujita

Each project brought new dimensions to LOEWE’s core designs, whether it was Paula’s Ibiza’s beachy aesthetic or Ken Price’s vivid artistry reinterpreted in leather goods. Most recently, Anderson partnered with On, an athletic shoe and performance sportswear company originating in Switzerland.

LOEWE x On

These partnerships cemented its reputation as a cultural tastemaker, merging high fashion with artistic subcultures.

Famous Friends and Cinematic Stardom

Anderson’s design prowess extended to the silver screen in 2024, where he served as costume designer for Guadagnino’s films Challengers and Queer. In Challengers, Zendaya, Josh O’Conner, and Mike Faist’s tennis-court ensembles merged sportswear with a high-fashion edge. The film’s award-winning kinetic techno soundtrack only amplified its impact.

Challengers (2024)
Queer (2024)

Meanwhile, Queer offered a completely different aesthetic—backpacker chic meets lush sensuality, as Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey explore the jungle and their identities. These films showcased Anderson’s range, positioning him as a rising star in Hollywood’s costume design scene as it earned him representation with UTA (United Talent Agency), which fuels him to more film-focused media.

The Rumored Leap to Dior

With Proenza Schouler’s founders possibly stepping into LOEWE, whispers of Anderson moving to Dior have only grown louder. Having reshaped LOEWE into one of the most culturally relevant luxury brands of our time, Anderson is poised for his next jump. Dior, under Maria Grazia Chiuri for over a decade, could be the perfect place for Anderson to reimagine yet another storied house.

S/S24
LOEWE Puzzle Bag
F/W24
S/S25

If these rumors hold true, Anderson’s departure from LOEWE will mark the beginning of a new chapter, both for him and for the fashion industry at large.

For now, though, we can only wait and see. Whether at LOEWE, Dior, or beyond, Jonathan Anderson will continue to be the name that sets the image for fashion.


Photos: LOEWE (via website and Instagram); JONATHAN ANDERSON, CHALLENGERS, and A24 (via Instagram)

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