The Loewe-ification of Direction

When life gives you tomatoes, you turn them into bags. While this is something we won’t necessarily imagine, we know Johnathan Anderson is always a step ahead when it comes to going beyond the ordinary.

If you, like us have been on social media during your designated IG scrolling hours, you might have come across the meme of an heirloom tomato that was deemed ‘so Loewe.’ What started as a meme on Twitter, then took a spot on Johnathan Anderson’s IG feed and turned into a reality just a few days later, cueing the Loewe Tomato Bag.

How does this impact luxury fashion, you might ask? Well, the overarching idea really comes down to luxury brands like Marc Jacobs, Loewe and MSCHF actually integrating their brands into the world of social media rather than just being a part of it. 

Those days seem long gone when luxury had to be serious or exclusive and doing so has made Loewe a part of many other contemporaries that leaned into social media to expand and gain traction amongst the digital natives. 

Luckily for Loewe, Jonathan Anderson transformed the brand identity and vision over the years in a way that seeing a tomato bag rather seemed expected… yet iconic. From the Tennis Ball shoes to the Pixel capsule collection, these collections have certainly given Loewe the edge and made it the cool brand around the block- increasing its aspiration level as well. 

Similarly for Marc Jacobs- dabbling into memes and collaborating with iconic influencers and artists not only increases their virality but makes them seem so much more relatable. 

You’ll always have premium luxury brands like Chanel and Hermès that will continue with their ‘serious’ tone and approach as it stays quintessential to them. In the other realm of luxury, this evolving approach to fashion seems to be transforming the brands while still being in line with their identities. 

Staying relevant through creative and relatable means is a trend that’s on the rise. Creative directors like Johnathan Anderson are quickly grasping various opportunities to stay on top of the social media game and offer something unique that would increase virality at most. But is it a trend that’s here to stay or will the classics reign supreme for luxury?