The Paris skies may have been grey the day of Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez's first collection unveiling for LOEWE, but the mood and palette inside, the show space – the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris – was anything but. After stepping away from Proenza Schouler earlier this year, the duo arrived at the Spanish House determined to reframe its identity with a jolt of colour, athleticism, and cheeky provocation.
Even before the runway began, their vision was clear: invites arrived as embossed leather rectangles, adorned with corkscrews and bottle openers. Inside guests were greeted by Ellsworth Kelly’s luminous Yellow Panel with Red Curve artwork, a minimalist gesture and fitting prelude to what followed.
The shifting front row was equally telling. McCollough and Hernandez assembled their own: Liv Tyler, Yara Shahidi, Milly Alcock, and Sarah Snook in the front row, with Solange making a dramatic late entrance, and Lesley Manville carrying over a touch of continuity.
On the runway, playfulness took centre stage. Models strode out in asymmetric skirts, towel-like dresses, bomber jackets with microscopic hot pants, and jumpers tied loosely around bare torsos. The trousers, famously sparse, ceded ground to sweeping dresses and sculptural leather miniatures that nodded to LOEWE’s artisanal core. Still, there was a distinct leaning into a new era of sport-inflected luxury. It ended with a standing ovation.
The details
Sweaters were embroidered with multiple LOEWE logos and dresses, fashioned from multiple beach towels, and legionnaire hats offered a more on-the-nose nod to Spring Summer fashion. Sculptural leather jackets felt redolent of those rubber Polly Pocket clothes from my own adolescence (why do I also want to chew on these?), and a frayed material caught eyes when repurposed into denim-like jeans and jean jackets.
The beauty
Complimentary to the towelling and swimwear details in the collection was the beauty – wet, slick and bare-faced. Brows were brushed full, hair was combed through and worn out. Mermaid-like waves were interspersed, and hair was often tucked into the top of cardigans worn round the shoulders.
The accessories
The footwear quickly became the highlight of the collection online, with these transparent and silicone kitten heels making frequent appearances. Models donned them with breezy pastel-tones, often styled with contrasting socks that, in the clear versions, cleverly shifted the shoes’ colour depending on the pairing. Squared-off suede brown bags were worn unzipped to display the LOEWE logos inside. A smaller bucket bag was covered in oversized patent leather pailettes, and a clever clutch detail was closed by a metal ladybug (which has become an unofficial emblem of the House).
