The gardens of Albert York were the starting point of Loewe’s blossoming FW24 collection
JW Anderson’s proposal for FW24 embarked us on a sartorialo-couture journey through American artist Albert York’s work and his hopeful beliefs: ‘I think we live in a paradise. This is a Garden of Eden. Really. It is. It might be the only paradise we’ll ever know. And it’s just so beautiful. And you feel you want to paint it.”
A showspace conceptualized like a maze colored in hues of green was an ode to the abundance of that shade present in York’s body of work. The space could have equally mimicked an art gallery as the eighteen works of art from York decorated the walls.
By Cynthia Jreige
There was a lot of contrasts observed throughout these enchanting 12 minutes of show, with every silhouette being a testimony of Anderson’s genius. While mixing and matching can sometimes be proven to be a difficult exercise, it appears here as there’s no easier task in the world.
Pairs of flowy pants, somewhat balloon-shaped, blow up the proportions and are tamed by a slimming suit jacket or a biker jacket. Delicate silk dresses rebel through a big-buckle leather belt in a semi trompe l’oeil. The fauna and flora depicted by York here exist on lamp-shade shaped dresses, biker boots and other hand bags featuring an impressive caviar beading.
Draping is observed on multiple occasions, injecting a dose of femininity that come refine the whole parade. A few palate cleansers go down the runway here and there, notably a very “woke up like this” boxer short and matching shirt.
While some of the pieces could look like UFOs at first glance, they tie the collection together, making it quintessential LOEWE where playfulness and an impeccable sartorial expertise fusion.
A historical material at the Spanish house, leather is obviously appearing on multiple occasions, the one we favoured being this midi-length coat on Mona Tougaard but also on draped nappa blousons, leather aviator jackets or the Flamenco Purse here declined in a new large size.
While the many vaporous silhouettes gave a sense of liberty and freedom, injecting a bit of hope in gloomy days, it isn’t the florals or the joyful hues that we are obsessing over but rather two distinct silhouettes.
The first is this gorgeous black and white vestalesque cocktail dress that modernize this color combo in a mere second and the other is the one here above, with this coarsely but exquisitely finished wool peplum sitting on an almost theatrically high-waisted pant featuring a perfect drape that comes conclude our favourite look of the show.
Another very Anderson rendition of what fashion means, we loved walking through this utopian garden where floral prints are born again, sometimes rebelling, sometimes contrasted but never boring.
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Backstage pictures/ Molly Lowe