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    Loewe store in Seoul designed as “art collector’s home”

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    Spanish fashion house Loewe paid homage to its own craft history in this Seoul store, which features artwork including a multi-level bamboo sculpture and a basket woven entirely from horse hair.

    The store is located in Seoul’s Gangnam district and is the first Casa Loewe branch in South Korea.
    Loewe has opened a new shop in Seoul’s Gangnam districtA gleaming monolithic facade characterises the exterior, covered in handmade ceramic tiles in a verdant shade of green.
    “With tiles crafted in Spain, the facade is a bold volume of colour and texture that sits in dialogue with the store’s urban context and surrounding greenery,” said Loewe.
    Tile-clad plinths and shelving features insideThe interior spans three floors and also features a selection of brown, green and blue tiles, which clad blocky plinths and shelves displaying garments, bags and footwear.

    By incorporating art throughout the store, Loewe aimed to reference its origins as a leather-making collective in the 19th century, as well as nodding to its annual craft prize.
    Eclectic artwork characterises the storeThe collection of pieces includes a multi-level bamboo sculpture by Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV. The bamboo was used to form a duo of cylinders resembling tree trunks, which stretch from the ground floor’s central atrium up onto the first floor, where they intertwine.
    Among the other artwork on show is a delicate vessel by 2022 Craft Prize winner Dahye Jeong, who wove an intricate basket out of wispy strands of horse hair.
    The collection includes a multi-level bamboo sculpture by Tanabe Chikuunsai IVAccording to Loewe, the brand conceived the store as “a place where a blend of fashion, art, craft and design furniture creates the eclectic feel of an art collector’s home”.
    Furniture pieces are finished in a selection of materials ranging from custom felt to black walnut and canvas.

    Loewe presents 24 lamps characterised by “unexpected interactions” with light

    Bespoke Loewe leather benches provide seating for trying on shoes, while black terrazzo and burnt wood were used to create tables and podiums respectively.
    Artisanal wool carpets were patterned with abstract interpretations of tapestries by British textile artist John Allen that depict expansive landscapes.
    Wool carpets were finished with abstract interpretations of tapestries by John AllenThe rest of the interior is defined by swathes of concrete that contrast with the eclectic artworks on display, as well as oak, brass and marble accents.
    This May, Mexican ceramicist Andrés Anza was named the seventh winner of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize for her “arresting” human-sized ceramic sculpture. Elsewhere in East Asia, the fashion house recently opened a store in Osaka, Japan, specifically dedicated to the repair and preservation of Loewe leather goods.
    The photography is courtesy of Loewe. 

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      Loewe ReCraft store in Osaka finds ways to let leather live on

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      Fashion brand Loewe has opened a store in Osaka that, for the first time, is specifically dedicated to the repair and preservation of its leather goods.

      The opening of Loewe ReCraft continues the “obsessive focus” that the brand has had on leather since 1846, when it initially launched as a leather-making collective.
      The store is set inside luxury department store Hankyu Umeda, and – thanks to the presence of an in-house artisan – is able to offer maintenance services ranging from re-painting and stitching to the replacement of handles and eyelets.
      The store is exclusively used to preserve and repair Loewe’s leather goods”The launch [of the store] builds on Loewe’s ongoing commitment to the longevity of its handcrafted bags,” explained the brand. “It’s about the joy of craft beyond the new; it’s a commitment to breathing fresh life into long-cherished possessions.”
      The store’s open facade allows for uninterrupted sightlines through to the interior, which has been decked out in natural tones and materials.

      Dotted across the recycled-wood floor is a trio of chunky consultation islands, each clad with glossy emerald-green tiles sourced from Spain.
      Thread, cutting tools, and leather swatches lie behind a glass windowThe longest of the three islands has a thickset countertop made from limestone and wood.
      It features a series of inbuilt flat trays from which customers can select straps, charms or studs to customise their items. Monogramming services are also available.
      A window in a tile-covered wall looks through to a small repair room that houses a sewing machine, various cutting tools, swatches of leather, and a rainbow of different threads.
      Loewe bag models with surplus-leather patches and pockets will be for sale in the storeAnother tiled wall at the rear of the Loewe ReCraft store showcases bags crafted from leather left over from Loewe’s past collections, which customers can purchase.
      Limited editions of the brand’s signature Basket bag are also available to buy, updated with patches and pockets made out of surplus leather.
      As well as leather items, Loewe also makes clothing, accessories and pieces for the home.
      Earlier this year the brand released a pair of trainers covered in shaggy green raffia, emulating the appearance of grass. It also collaborated with French metal artist Elie Hirsch to produce a series of bulbous pewter and copper jackets.

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      “I sometimes feel like I fell into doing fashion” says Jonathan Anderson

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      Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson set up the brand’s annual craft prize to decode the “chintz” and “pastiche” associations of the discipline, he tells Dezeen in this interview.

      Luxury fashion house Loewe recently announced the sixth winner of its annual craft prize at NYCxDesign, which celebrates applied arts and innovation in modern craftsmanship.
      A spiky egg sculpture by Japanese ceramicist Eriko Inazaki was selected for the 2023 award from more than 2,700 entries.
      “It became chintz”
      Anderson established The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize in 2016 in an effort to honour the brand’s 19th-century origins as a leather-making craft collective.

      Speaking to Dezeen at the awards ceremony for the prize at The Noguchi Museum in Brooklyn, he explained he also wanted to redefine contemporary understandings of artisanal production.
      “I think from the ’80s onwards, [craft] had become this thing which was linked to mid-century, it was pastiche,” said Anderson.
      “In Britain, for example, there was a lot of money put into crafts and the Arts Council to boost this idea of making, and then it became maybe chintz at some point.”
      The winning sculpture by Eriko Inazaki (front) was displayed among an exhibition of shortlisted projects at NYCxDesign. Photo courtesy of Loewe”The reason why I set the prize up was to try to sort of decode that,” he told Dezeen. “It was like it wasn’t marketed right. The work was there, but the platform was not there.”
      Young creatives are now becoming interested in craft once again, he suggested.
      “I think younger people are starting to realise that, as much as it’s interesting being a contemporary artist, it can be just as interesting to be a rug maker or to make ceramics or to work with wood,” said Anderson.
      “It’s a less sort of diminished form of the arts.”
      “I am probably a shopaholic”
      Before being appointed by Loewe in 2014, Anderson founded his eponymous label, JW Anderson.
      Although differentiated by what Anderson describes as an “angst” at JW Anderson and a “heightened perfection” at Loewe, the two brands share an emphasis on art, design, craft and interiors.
      His collections at Loewe often incorporate elements of applied arts – bringing in collaborators and craftspeople, such as metal artist Elie Hirsch who created solid copper and pewter jackets for its Autumn Winter 2023 collection.
      Loewe also presented a collection of decorated wooden chairs during Milan design week that were created by global artisans.
      “Art for me is always going to be a language no matter what brand I’m in,” he said. “Because I think this is a way for me to kind of explain to the consumer, what I love, or things that I’m fascinated with.”
      Anderson works with the internal architectural team to design stores. Photo by Adrià CañamerasThe Northern Irish designer’s love of craft and art extends to the conception of store interiors for both of his brands.
      JW Anderson recently unveiled its first flagship store in Milan during Milan design week, designed by Anderson in collaboration with 6a Architects.
      “I sometimes feel like I fell into doing fashion but ultimately the interior part is what I love the most,” he said.
      “The thing I love about interiors is, it is a singular kind of environment. Whereas fashion is like a transient period that goes in different environments. I quite like with interiors the control that you can have within space.”
      He described his love of shopping for items to appear in stores.
      “I think I am probably a shopaholic,” he said. “I could be at an auction or be in a gallery and I’ll be like, ‘oh, that’s perfect for Korea or that’s perfect for…’.”
      “I think it just adds this element and a pleasingness for a consumer to go in and to a store and to see an original Rennie Mackintosh chair.”

      Needle-felted chair and spiky ceramic egg feature in Loewe Foundation Craft Prize exhibition

      Anderson feels that for Loewe, the design of stores is sometimes more important than fashion shows.
      “I think stores can be more than just like these commercial vehicles,” he said. “I think, for me, the store is just as important as doing a show. It’s sort of even more important because they have to last longer.”
      “I’m in a very lucky position at Loewe where I decide everything,” he added. “I have an internal architectural team, but I decide every artwork, I decide every door handle, every fixture.”
      However, that does not tempt Anderson to cross over from fashion into interiors permanently.
      “I enjoy it because it’s probably more like a hobby,” he said. “It’s something that distracts me from what I do as a day job, but I do it because of the stage of Loewe or JW Anderson.
      “But I would never see it as something where I would be like, ‘oh, I’m going to be an interior designer’,” he continued. “There are other people out there that are actually really good at it. I think I’m good at it to an extent, but I change my mind too quickly. I would like it for like a day and then I would want to redo it again.”
      The portrait is by Scott Trindle.

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      Twisting bamboo installation weaves through Barcelona's Casa Loewe

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      Spanish fashion brand Loewe has reopened its Barcelona flagship, which it has transformed into a gallery-like space with an undulating bamboo installation that winds across its surfaces.

      Casa Loewe is set inside Casa Lléo Morera, a modernist building created by Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner off one of the Spanish city’s major shopping streets.
      Loewe has reopened its flagship store in BarcelonaThe flagship was renovated to create a gallery-like space and restored to highlight the 19th-century building’s original features, including gold-leaf detailing that adorns the ceilings.
      Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson interspersed art collections and curated furniture across the store’s interior, alongside the luxury fashion brand’s ready-to-wear collections, accessories and fragrances.
      Casa Loewe features a bamboo installation by Tanabe Chikuunsai IVAs craft is an integral element of Loewe’s identity, a key goal for Casa Loewe’s interior scheme was to showcase various artists and artwork.

      Anderson filled the store with installations and objects that the brand explained epitomised innovation and craftsmanship, including sculptures by winners and finalists in the brand’s Craft Prize.
      The store was designed to look like a galleryA centrepiece of the interior is a twisting bamboo installation by Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, which weaves across the store’s ceiling, walls and structural columns.
      The installation, titled Yūgo, was crafted from 6,000 pieces of tiger bamboo woven together to create the winding tubular forms.

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      “It was important for me to express Loewe’s tradition and innovation while creating a work that merges the building and the bamboo installation together,” Chikuunsai IV told Dezeen.
      “[Anderson’s] essence is his passion for materials and creating innovation while maintaining tradition,” he said. “Thus, I wanted to create something that fuses art, fashion, and nature together in order to form a futuristic and creative universe.”
      It incorporates decorative furniture and artwork. Photo is courtesy of LoeweAlongside Chikuunsai IV’s bamboo installation is a macramé structure by Catalan artist Aurèlia Muñoz. It is suspended from the ceiling of the ground floor in front of a blue tile-clad wall, which was created by Ceràmica Cumella.
      Ceràmica Cumella also erected ceramic-clad columns across the store in varying shades of white and blue to reference the Mediterranean Sea.
      Chikuunsai IV’s installation was crafted from 6,000 pieces of bambooIconic furniture pieces are dotted throughout Casa Loewe on top of its concrete floors, including Gerrit Thomas Reitveld’s Utrecht chairs and an oak arts and crafts armchair by William Birch.
      Other recent projects by Loewe include the costume design for an immersive installation at London’s Tate Britain in 2018, developed in collaboration with Anthea Hamilton.
      Tiles in shades of white and blue reference the sea. Photo is courtesy of LoeweCeline creative director Hedi Slimane recently employed a similar interior scheme across his London flagship store for the French fashion house – balancing historic Edwardian features with contemporary art and furniture.
      Other retail spaces recently featured on Dezeen include a Balenciaga store clad in pink faux fur, which is featured in our roundup of ten weird and wonderful shop interiors.
      The photography is by Adrià Cañameras unless stated otherwise.

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