Jonathan Anderson Serves Up a Recipe for Reduction at LOEWE FW23
Combining trompe-l’œil with technical fabric manipulation for an illusion of simplicity that’s anything but straight-forward.
When Jonathan Anderson‘s eponymous label JW Anderson showcased its Fall/Winter 2023 menswear collection, the designer told Hypebeast: “As we reduce — because I think we’re heading into a season of reduction — and strip back, I also think that if we still don’t have humor I think it’s hard.” This didn’t just relate to that menswear collection of his own brand, but seemingly influenced his FW23 menswear collection for LOEWE, and now, the same can be said for LOEWE‘s just-debuted Fall/Winter 2023 womenswear presentation.
Set inside the walls of a chateau, Anderson and LOEWE created their now-signature stark space and adorned it with Lara Favaretto-designed confetti squares, decorating the space in a vibrant splash of color. This was the designer’s first nod to stripping things back while maintaining an air of joy — and then the show commenced.
Trompe-l’œil came to fore right off the bat. Nothing boring here. Florals were mid-spin across incredibly paired-back dresses cut with straight necklines and little movement, letting the print do all the talking. This theme of deception and mystique was applied throughout, as the collection consistently provided us with illusions — one dress was printed with a metallic brown covering, looking like fur in motion, while other dresses contained a red dress inside them, giving us two for the price of one moments again and again.
Anderson elevated this with a nod to his LOEWE FW23 menswear collection, presenting a papery shirt printed with ribbed hems, pocket details and even shadows to emulate fabric contorting to the body, all in ode to the rigid structures and elements that frequented the men’s looks. Likewise, brushed suede was used across multiple pieces — notably, one entire ensemble comprising a blazer and wide-leg pants — as a womenswear update to complement looks found during the men’s show, while the aforementioned stiffness of the past was brought into womenswear with leather that looked like mattified candy, served in liquorice black, Pepto-Bismol pink and taffy green across cropped shirts, leather tees and pleated mini-skirts.
Furthermore, where the men’s show covered male bodies in ropes of fabric, showing just their bare arms, the womenswear opted for cold-shoulder looks that let the arm cross over the bust to hold tails of satin fabric in hand, working like drapes on a DIY dress. Feathers, glittering coats, jumpers manipulated to keep an unkempt shape, trousers as booties, and a whole host of leather subsequently rounded out yet another standout show from Anderson.
Take a look at LOEWE’s FW23 womenswear collection in the gallery above, and find more Paris Fashion Week FW23 content across Hypebeast.
In other news, Rick Owens surpassed his own conventions for FW23’s “LUXOR” runway show.
