One Last Dance: JW Anderson’s Farewell Collection for Loewe

It’s been the unspoken conversation of the season — whispers circulating, yet no one daring to say it outright. The era of JW Anderson at Loewe is drawing to a close, with rumors swirling that he’s set to take the helm of a larger house within the group. Insiders suggest the official announcement won’t come until after Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior Cruise show in Rome, scheduled for May 27. And so, the Loewe Autumn-Winter 2025/26 women’s and men’s presentation, staged at the opulent 18th-century Hôtel de Maisons, serves as Anderson’s farewell letter to one of the most defining chapters of his career.

When Fashion and Art Mingle
It’s no secret that JW Anderson has a deep affinity for arts and crafts. For his latest presentation—staged at the historic Hôtel de Maisons in Paris’s 7th Arrondissement, where Karl Lagerfeld resided for decades—he sought to merge his designs with his favorite artworks. The result? A collection that unfolds across 17 themed rooms, interwoven with an eclectic curation from the Loewe art collection and installations that echo familiar motifs from past shows, campaigns, and ateliers.

Among the standout pieces, British artist Anthea Hamilton’s Giant Pumpkin No. 2 made a striking appearance, first seen in Loewe’s Autumn-Winter 2022 women’s show and campaign. Nearby, a trio of sculptural vases by South African ceramicist Zizipho Poswa captivated the eye, alongside Japanese artist Yoshihiro Suda’s delicate Morning Glory (2023). Elsewhere, past and present Loewe projects seamlessly intertwined—a whimsical troupe of inflated acrobats from the brand’s jewelry collection took over the staircase, while a larger-than-life apple, originally conceived for the Spring-Summer 2025 precollection campaign, commanded attention in the center of the halls, nestled among leather trenches. Outside, an enchanting display of mushroom staddle stones was elegantly arranged in the garden, a nod to Loewe Chairs at Salone del Mobile 2023.

A Scrapbook of Ideas
This season, JW Anderson embraced the concept of a scrapbook as his guiding creative principle. A tapestry of past and present, a scrapbook is an instinctive gathering of keepsakes, fragments, and inspirations — each page brimming with memory. Conceiving the collection as a living scrapbook, Anderson reinterpreted his signature codes — trompe l’oeil illusions, exaggerated proportions, and sculptural forms — through the lens of art and craftsmanship. This vision naturally led to a collaboration with the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, drawing inspiration from Josef Albers’ Hommage to the Square series and Anni Albers’ pictorial weavings. The result was a seamless dialogue between heritage and innovation, expressed through a series of statement coats and reimagined best-sellers like the Puzzle and Amazona bags, as well as the Flamenco clutch.

At the presentation, guests were invited to engage with artisans, witnessing firsthand how Anderson’s ideas evolved, step by step, into final creations — offering a rare, immersive glimpse into the process itself.

Walking through the halls, the boundaries between womenswear and menswear dissolved, merging into a singular, fluid expression where fashion knew no frontiers. The eye and mind were kept in a constant state of intrigue as soft architectures unfolded around the body — leather was spliced, draped, and stretched to new dimensions, while jersey dresses swelled into voluminous, organic forms. Designs became living sculptures: cocktail dresses constructed from cascading strands of beaded organza, knitted tops punctuated with oversized buttons, and familiar wardrobe staples — shirts, knits, and coats — deconstructed and reassembled into bold hybrids, distorting expectations and transforming the ordinary into something uncanny yet irresistibly compelling.

It was, undeniably, one of the season’s most breathtaking fashion presentations — an experience to be lived rather than simply observed. And it left us wondering: what would it have felt like if all of this had been presented in a traditional catwalk show?

Courtesy: Loewe

Text: Lidia Ageeva