Round The World With Loewe

Creative director Jonathan Anderson travelled round the globe discovering artisans for Loewe’s latest Salone project.

A year in the making, the brand explored the exceptional forms of textile craft in aim to combine advanced expertise of the house’s workshops with the work of smaller ateliers. As a result, they used ribbon hand-embroidery from India on blankets and totes, while other items were made with the ancient method of boro in a Japanese atelier.

Anderson travelled to remote corners in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, exploring various types of artisanal textile production methods, focusing in particular on workshops that bridged tradition and modernity. In Senegal, highly skilled craftswomen applied an elaborate African patchwork technique to achieve the complex patterns entirely by hand. In Ecuadorian mountains, Loewe sourced an exceedingly rare fabric gathered from the back and neck of the vicuña, a llama-like animal that lives in the wild in the Andes.

Loewe’s latest Salone project began with a series of especially commissioned, large-scale tapestries featuring images of various origin, woven at an atelier in Aubusson, central France, known for fusing traditional craftsmanship with of-the-moment digital methods. There are blankets decorated with a safety pins, and feathered textiles printed with black and white photographs. Each tote bag was assembled at the house’s workshops in Spain and sold at their Milan boutique during Salone del Mobile.

Want to get your hands on one these expertly crafted masterpieces? They will hit boutiques worldwide in October with both the tapestry and blanket styles available for special order. Profits from the Loewe Salone project will be donated to charities promoting women’s education and crafts around the globe.