Smart & Radical: Jonathan Anderson's 10 Years at Loewe
In 10 years of menswear, Irish designer Jonathan Anderson has created fashion for Loewe that is both smart and wearable, multiplying artistic references and welcoming high-profile ambassadors.
Whether it's K-Pop superstar Taeyong or actor Jamie Dornan, no one refuses a collaboration with fashion genius Jonathan Anderson . Even Daniel Craig, almost unrecognizable in front of David Sims's lens, has put himself on the line, putting aside his role as James Bond for an unexpected character, like the one inspired by the life of William S. Burroughs, in the film "Queer" by Luca Guadagnino , one of Anderson's dearest friends.
Shows, advertising campaigns, collaborations: with Jonathan Anderson nothing is ever left to chance and the latest show, entitled “A Radical Act of Restraint” , proves it once again. The designer has set up an ephemeral and minimal museum in the space of the Garde Républicaine where he usually shows, bringing together a series of works by 20th century artists. Among these, the chair in stained varnished oak, straw and horsehair by Charles Rennie Mackintosh , the meticulous work in bronze by Paul Thek with the microsculptures of the Pied Piper series, the works of Carlo Scarpa and the photograph of a high-heeled shoe by Peter Hujar, which is said to have been the starting point for this collection.
In the brand’s statement: “United by a fierce commitment to independence and artistic freedom, each of these artists pursued their work with a quiet radicalism. In their hands, everyday objects are elevated to the status of the extraordinary: a chair, a coat rack and an easel take on the complexity of a building, a photograph of a simple shoe becomes a monument and a collection of whimsical objects is cast in bronze.”
The fragmented environment—interpreted as a room and a landscape—is haunted by a series of imaginary characters. The drama shifts from fantasy to reality, from a fantastical fable to the banal but sacred rituals of everyday life. This seemingly heterogeneous assemblage is an exercise in curatorial subjectivity and narrative association. It echoes Susan Sontag’s call for an “erotic vision of art,” privileging sensual pleasure over interpretation.”
It is clear that for Anderson, fashion and art are one and the same, as demonstrated by the Summer 2025 collection and the Winter 2024 collection, which featured the work of Californian artist Richard Hawkins , known for his collages inspired by the cut-up tradition of Brion Gysin. And as demonstrated by his collaborations with Lynda Benglis, Albert York and William Morris , his installations at the Salone del Mobile, which each year explores a specific artisanal technique or theme in collaboration with artisans from around the world, or the creation of the Loewe Foundation Craft award, launched in 2016 on his initiative to celebrate excellence in craftsmanship. At Loewe, there has never been a talk of trends. The common thread running through each collection is artistic inspiration and a menswear wardrobe that is renewed every season, with classic suits that are always revisited and lots of knitwear, in the form of chunky knits or tapestries, characterised by first-rate craftsmanship.
There is a lot of leather, the flagship material of the Spanish brand launched in 1846, on trousers or jackets, jeans without logo, Oxford shirt and navy blue zip-up sweater that make up Jonathan Anderson's uniform, volumes that go from XXXS to XXXL, always bold colors - from blood red to Irish green - and above all couture details: from the surreal mask of this S/S 2025 to the embroidered grass seen on both the coats and sneakers of the S/S 2023, for which the designer turned to the Spanish bio-designer Paula Ulargui Escalona, who sowed, watered and grew the plants directly on the fabrics for twenty days. "Craftsmanship is and will always be the essence of Loewe" , underlines the designer. "It is the place of our modernity and will always be current" .
Born in 1984 in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, to a father who was a rugby player and captain of the All-Ireland team (a unique combination in the two Irelands) and a mother who was a teacher, Jonathan Anderson first took an interest in theatre, attending the National Youth Music Theatre in London before leaving England to fly to Washington to study at the Actors Studio. Back in London, he enrolled at the London College of Fashion, specialising in menswear, while simultaneously working for Prada alongside Manuela Pavesi, Miuccia's right-hand woman. He left the Italian brand to start his own in 2005, aged just 21. In 2010, he was discovered by the press with a collection based on a paisley motif, and in 2013, his menswear collection, made of baggy shorts and bustiers, shook up the codes and went down in history. LVMH then decided to invest in his eponymous brand before appointing him, in the same year, artistic director of Loewe , for which he created his first menswear collection in 2015.
Jonathan Anderson has never taken the easy way out. His style has always been that of a seeker who never stops pushing the envelope. This season, he imagined perfectly cut suits, scarf shirts as colorful as coats of arms, super-pleated wide-leg pants, painted knit, cable-knit or fringed T-shirts, A-line coats and feathered masks. But this exaggerated creativity does not prevent classic and essential pieces such as perfect jeans, checked Bermuda shorts and double-strap leather belts from taking center stage. A clever balancing act for the designer, who with each collection transports us into his surreal world of desirable fashion.
