The return of vivid color has been the unmissable story this European fashion season, and there it was – a yellow and red Ellsworth Kelly painting hung at the entrance of Loewe’s spring show, foreshadowing the sunny, fiery debut of Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.
“Energy” was a word the two men used repeatedly during a preview, clearly energized by their first creative challenge post-Proenza Schouler, the capabilities of Loewe’s ateliers, and by the brand story, rooted in Madrid, dedicated to craft, and now synonymous with bold fashion experimentation thanks to the stellar 11-year tenure of their predecessor, Jonathan Anderson, who made his womenswear debut at Dior earlier in the week.
This was an upbeat and zesty start for the duo, who steered the brand in a more casual, sporty and hot-blooded direction.
The opening look, a smoothly sculpted leather jacket, evoked an unzipped scuba suit, and beach-y references were all over this leggy display: towel-like minidresses, double-visor caps, and scrunched-up T-shirts, a bit of metal-reinforced leather knitting wizardry.
Like Anderson, the duo repeated key looks and silhouettes on the runway and some front-row VIPs, particularly the feather-like skived leather jeans, coats and jackets, which are sure to be a hit, and their scuba-like molded leather jackets and tank dresses.
Like so many designers making their debuts this season, Hernandez and McCollough first visited the brand’s archives, blown away by what the house has turned out since it was founded in 1846 as a leather-making collective and supplier to the Spanish royal crown.
Hernandez, who is of Cuban descent, said what may have been missing from the brand is a certain element of Spanish culture. “It’s about a heat, about a sensuality, about skin, about the body,” he said. “There’s a freedom of expression, and an emotional quality that’s quite fierce and fiery and hot.”
During the preview, the designers said they sought to channel Spain, intensive craft, and their own fashion story – stalwarts of the New York fashion scene with an undiminished aura of arty cool.
“We’re American, we can’t hide from that,” McCollough said. “There’s a certain sensibility in dressing that we grew up with, and we wanted that to exist within this.”
Preppy touches came through in the V-neck knits, whorled and bunched up on one side, or fashioned into a bra top masquerading as a sweater tied around the shoulders.
Patterned shirts and bubble-shaped anoraks were worn in multiples, a new code the designers seem to be layering on to the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton-controlled brand.
The accessories skewed young and quirky: one-handled Amazona bags sagging open; glossy tassel loafers in primary colors, and kooky semi-transparent kitten heeled shoes worn with colorful sockettes.
But overall the Loewe of McCullough and Hernandez already feels more approachable, straightforward – and playful. There’s nothing conceptual about a sexy day at the beach.