Our Love for Loewe

Why this Spanish house has our hearts (and closets) this season.

Loewe started as a leather workshop in Madrid in 1846 and spent most of the next century and a half making beautifully finished bags for people who didn't need to show off. Then, in 2013, a young Northern Irish designer called Jonathan Anderson arrived and turned a quiet Spanish heritage house into the brand everyone in fashion wanted to talk about.

Anderson left in 2025 for Dior, and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the duo behind Proenza Schouler, took over. Big shoes. So far, the house still feels like itself: clever, crafted and slightly odd in the best possible way.

Loewe doesn't chase trends. It quietly creates them.

Craft first, always

Everything at Loewe comes back to leather. The Puzzle bag, made from geometric panels that fold flat, is one of the cleverest designs of the last decade. The Flamenco, with its knotted drawstring, is soft enough to squash into a tote. The Hammock does three shapes in one. None of them carries a giant logo. You recognise them by the construction.

The house also runs the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, which celebrates ceramicists, weavers and woodworkers from around the world. It's not a marketing gimmick. It's a fair indication of where the brand's heart sits.

Fun, but never silly

Loewe has a sense of humour most luxury houses would never risk. Heels shaped like balloons, cracked eggs and rose petals. Pixelated trousers that look like a glitching screenshot. The tomato and cucumber bags. Somehow it lands as art rather than novelty, because the making underneath is so good.

How to buy into it

Full price, a Puzzle bag is a serious commitment. If you want one, buy from Loewe directly, or from Selfridges and Mytheresa, which carry a good spread of colours. The smaller accessories, like card holders, the anagram keyrings and the raffia pieces, are a gentler way in.

Pre-loved is worth a look too. Loewe leather wears beautifully, and Vestiaire Collective has plenty of authenticated bags. The Outnet occasionally gets past-season ready-to-wear at a fraction of the original price.

The summer staple

The Paula's Ibiza line, Loewe's holiday collection, is where the brand gets properly joyful. Woven baskets, printed kaftans, raffia hats and those famous elephant bags. If you only buy one Loewe piece in your life, a raffia basket bag is the one you'll carry every summer for a decade.

Loewe isn't about logos. It's about the language of form, feeling and a bit of mischief. Our edit below picks out the pieces we'd buy first.

The bags, explained

The Puzzle is the icon, and the one that holds its value best on resale. Carry it on the shoulder, cross-body or by the handle, then fold it completely flat to pack. The Hammock is the more practical choice, with side panels that expand when you need space and tuck away when you don't. The Flamenco is the soft one: a gathered leather pouch with a knotted drawstring, best in a neutral if you want it to go with everything. The Font Tote is the newest of the four and the easiest to use every day, a structured shopper with a bold embossed logo that's oddly subtle in person.

Is it worth the money?

Honestly, it depends on how you shop. If you buy one good bag every few years and use it until the corners wear, a Loewe will repay you. The leather is soft but tough, the stitching is excellent and repairs are handled properly through the boutiques. If you like a new bag every season, it's a lot to spend on something that will sit in a dust bag. Be honest about which one you are before you check out.

Looking after it

Keep the bag stuffed with paper when you're not carrying it so it holds its shape, and store it in the dust bag away from sunlight, which fades leather faster than you'd think. Wipe off marks with a soft dry cloth. Avoid supermarket leather wipes, which can strip the finish. For anything serious, take it back to a Loewe store rather than a high street cobbler.