faessbender:

When it was announced in September 2013 that Jonathan Anderson—the young designer of conceptual, unisex-minded London label J.W. Anderson, known for past collections that gleefully upended gender codes (knit crop tops and ruffled bloomers for men; boxy, sculptural silhouettes and sweeping trousers for women)—was to take the reins as creative director of Loewe, the 168-year-old Spanish luxury leather goods house, the entire fashion world took notice. It was validation of the Irish designer’s auspicious talent, giving him a place at the table among the heavyweights of the LVMH empire (namely, Nicolas Ghesquière, Phoebe Philo, and Riccardo Tisci), and it was also a stamp of approval for Anderson’s larger fashion vision, with LVMH simultaneously acquiring a minority stake of his eponymous label.

This past summer—prior to his well-received, breezily sensual womenswear debut at the UNESCO building at Paris Fashion Week in October—Anderson unveiled an all-new Loewe that he re-engineered from the ground up. His new vision for the Loewe house was heralded by an update of the logo by art directors M/M (Paris); a new bag design, the Puzzle; and an inaugural ad campaign that, alongside new images photographed by Steven Meisel, appropriated shots from a 1997 Meisel Italian Vogue editorial featuring Maggie Rizer and Amber Valletta. Loewe’s first U.S. flagship is also slated to open in Miami in early 2015. The campaign, certainly atypical, is an indicator of Anderson’s fashion sensibility—as not just a creator, but as an aggregator and translator of fashion for the image-hungry Instagram generation. As the 30-year-old Anderson explained to his friend, DJ and sound designer Michel Gaubert, during a phone call this past November, fashion is now in the ownerless age of the internet—and he just wants to show us his sketchbook. 

“there will always be something that turns me on in the dichotomy between men’s and women’s clothing.”

jonathan anderson photographed by gregory harris for interview dec ‘14.