Into the gap left at Paris fashion week by the departure of Phoebe Philo from Céline, enter Loewe. Philo’s successor, Hedi Slimane, is soon to begin work on his new-look Celine, to be unveiled in September. But in Paris another British designer, Jonathan Anderson – born in Northern Ireland, based in Dalston, feted in Paris – made a decisive grab for the hallowed ground occupied by Céline, the fashionista’s favourite label.
This Loewe collection had the same spare, high-level sophistication that enabled Philo’s Céline to punch above its commercial weight and become a key influencer on the clothes real women wear. “It’s winter, so it has to start with the coat,” said Anderson backstage after the show. Neat tweed checks with contrast leather collars, laid-back trench coats and wool blazers with elegant waists were perfectly executed. All of this season’s cool-girl tropes were present and correct – oversized earrings, ankle boots, long skirts trailing ribbon ties, polka dot silks – but there was an energy and attitude that elevated the collection beyond the tracing-paper versions of Céline that have become a catwalk cliche.
Spoken word is taking the place of music at many catwalk shows this season. On Thursday evening, the much-hyped Off-White collection by Virgil Abloh opened with the voice of the essayist Susan Sontag in conversation with the art critic John Berger, talking about storytelling as mediated by images. The Loewe show was accompanied by audio of a flat-toned discussion on the topics of mindfulness and virtue.
The idea of the soundtrack was to “take out noise”, said Anderson, who shows his own label, JW Anderson, at London fashion week, and was named designer of the year at the British fashion awards in December. “I want it to be about the confidence to do what is right for this brand, blocking out everything else.” On every seat was a hardback copy of either Madame Bovary, Don Quixote, Heart of Darkness or Dracula, each in their original language but with new sleeves designed by the American fashion photographer Steven Meisel. “I like the idea that you can stay with the classics, but change the cover and make it relevant today,” said Anderson.
The subtext of gifting each guest a hardback work of classic literature rather than, say, a lip gloss is that this is a thinking woman’s fashion brand. That message was reinforced by the surroundings: laid out within the Unesco headquarters in Paris, the Loewe catwalk also served as a gallery for artefacts which Anderson chose to complement the clothes, including neo-Dada sculptures by the Japanese artist Tetsumi Kudo. The silk bras that were stitched to the outside of a few outfits were a Paris fashion week version of a joke; the softly sculptural bags, panelled in leather and houndstooth wool, looked set to do serious business.
