LOEWE SS23 MEN’S RUNWAY COLLECTION

  • Publish date: Sunday، 26 June 2022
LOEWE SS23 MEN’S RUNWAY COLLECTION

Grass growing on cloth. Birds flying, fish swimming, water dripping and humans kissing on screens. The real and the digitally reproduced.

Nature and technology meet within a glaringly white, mind-expanding environment. A collection that juxtaposes to entice new perspectives. A fusion of the organic and the fabricated, carried with the bluntly affirmative, matter-of-fact tone that is essentially LOEWE. Shapes are reduced to their archetypal crudeness, standardised and then inflated, shrunken, sliced or left as they are.

Staples: the bomber, the hoodie, the sweatshirt, the polo, the shirt, the trackpants, the shorts, the waxed jacket, the parka. Made in padded nappa, or ozone-treated cotton that makes them look as though they’ve been buried underground. The perfect and the worn out.

Tech relics—earphones, a pen drive, a phone case—cluster on the leather coat. Chia plants and Cats wort grow on coats, sweatshirts, sweatpants and running shoes in a process perfected in collaboration with designer Paula Ulargui Escalona. Screens turn coats and tops into projection devices. Solid archetypes in solid colours: neutrals, with bright accents.

Archetype tote bags, hard cases, the Puzzle in a solid-colour version, and turned into a pair of shorts. Padded sneakers, the Flow runner sprouting grass A poetic vision seen through digital technology, expanding perceptions and boundaries on the materiality of clothes making. Circularity matters: one way, or the other way around. About plants and garments The plants that have been grown on a series of garments and shoes are the result of an experimental process developed in collaboration with Paula Ulargui Escalona. The idea is that over time the pieces merge with nature.

They took 20 days to reach the desired level of growth in a specially constructed polytunnel on the outskirts of Paris. They require regular watering and maintenance to ensure a runway-ready appearance.

About the venue The juxtaposition and integration of the natural and the fabricated continues in the setup of the show. The space is glaringly white. Guests follow a natural flow to reach their respective seats, an organic experience. Bleachers allow for a front-on view of the show, with models growing over the horizon and slowly drawing near. Again, an organic experience.