LOEWE FW24 MEN’S RUNWAY COLLECTION

An algorithm of masculinity. Reflecting on how levelled up everything is today: TMZ, Us Weekly and People Magazine, social media feeds, paparazzi shots and celebrity culture, all forming one single collage, which is what the work of Richard Hawkins is ultimately about. Collaged realness, that is.

Breaking away from formality, and the idea of one single look, a multitude of desirable characters is presented. The expression is so straightforward it becomes blatant, with a restlessness running throughout.

In a foray into a crystallized American iconography, action is trapped into each look. Direct and unequivocal: the coat, the suit, the blouson, the jumper and the long cardigan, the leather trousers, the fatigues, the tracksuit bottoms. And still: the Biker and Combat boots, the skater sneakers. Pieces are attached one to the other: shoes to socks, socks to trousers, trousers to jacket or coat, belt to waist, in a sardonic attempt to impose rather than propose a look, much like what happens in the collaged reality we are all living in.

Richard Hawkins’ work is turned into snippets that, in a further collage, end up on jewellery and clothing, becoming print, jacquard on knit, embroidery on oversized Squeeze bags —which also come in denim— as well as various embellishments on the Puzzle Fold tote, including embroidery, leather marquetery, glass studs, and fringes.

Note on the artworks

For FW24 Menswear show, LOEWE collaborated with artist Richard Hawkins (1961, Mexia, Texas), bringing his unique aesthetic universe within the show space and into the collection.

For over 30 years, Richard Hawkins has indulged his fascination for the male body, mining the aesthetic, literary and philosophical mythologies that underpin its representation in everything from art history to paparazzi shots and social media content. His practice is rooted in collage and the provocation of juxtaposition, forming a personal narrative of desire. Hawkins’s collision of disparate imagery long foreshadowed the constant online stream of disparate images we are now seduced by daily.

The show venue is a white cube with large screens on the walls that recall stained glass windows. Recalling 1960s LOEWE window designs by José Pérez de Rozas —the mastermind of LOEWE’s iconic window displays for over 30 years— as a starting point, Hawkins has created a series of 12 video collages, layering new footage and imagery of LOEWE brand ambassadors and internet personalities with elements drawn from his typically promiscuous variety sources.