Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson drafts artists to create 24 extraordinary lamps at Milan Design Week 2024
Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson commissioned international artists and artisans to explore ‘illumination within the house’ with a series of lamps and lighting installations, shown at a group exhibition at Milan Design Week 2024
![Loewe Lamps exhibition at Milan Design Week 2024](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z4TQhuPhBdwQnyXP3jTMLC-415-80.jpg)
It was a series of firsts for Loewe at Milan Design Week 2024; the first time showing its design week installation in the heart of Brera at the historic Palazzo Citterio, and the first time that creative director Jonathan Anderson and all of the 24 featured artists had worked in the medium of light.
’Each season we want to tackle different things within the interior, within how Loewe can explore different possibilities within the function of interior, and for me it was something that we had never tackled,’ Anderson told Wallpaper* as the presentation got underway this week. ’I think it’s something quite beautiful, the idea of illumination within the house [and] within the home.’
Let there be light: ‘Loewe Lamps’ at Milan Design Week 2024
Anthea Hamilton’s kimono-inspired lamp in lacquered wood and privacy glass
Many of the 24 pieces had already found a home by the end of the week, with that elusive red sticker to be seen on the majority of the works. Comprising floor, table, ceiling and installation lamps, the collection was both a celebration of experimentation and the individual, often rare, techniques of each artist.
See the spherical tower by Dahye Jeong (winner of the 2022 Loewe Craft Prize), which was created using a traditional horsehair weaving method that Jeong is thought to be one of the only artisans in the world using, or the suspending calabash fruit shells by Young Song Lee, each covered in coiled mulberry tree paper hand-rolled by Lee herself. Enrico David’s curved table lamp featuring a backlit woman’s profile was engineered from onyx and glass; and Anthea Hamilton’s kimono-inspired installation came to life through a combination of lacquered wood and privacy glass, giving the ordinary an extraordinary spin.
The installation was held in the heart of Brera at the historic Palazzo Citterio for the first time
’Loewe’s team are willing to take a leap of faith and make anything become a reality, so why not make a kimono a lamp?’ said Hamilton, who was inspired by the Italian Radical Design movement and the creations of Gaetano Pesce for the project. ‘My lamp is for a dreamer, it is an oversized, glowing body to watch over you whilst you sleep.’
While it may have been the first time this group of artists has come together to celebrate Salone, each has worked in some form with Loewe before, including Anne Low, who won the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019, and Magali Reus who worked with Anderson in the early days of his Loewe shows.
Enrico David’s curved table lamp, which features a backlit woman’s profile engineered from onyx and glass
‘Loewe Lamps’ was not the only event staged by Anderson during Milan Design Week. A few blocks away, off Via Montenapoleone, a collaboration with the American artist Patrick Carroll for his eponymous brand JW Anderson was unveiled (it was staged in JW Anderson Milan store, which opened in 2023).
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
‘Days’ with Patrick Carroll at JW Anderson, Milan
Entitled ‘Days’, the event featured 37 works by Carroll, who stretches fabrics he has knitted onto wooden bars to appear like canvases, each of which features a quote, a message or a word derived from the central theme of queer art of the 20th century.
‘Some of them name paintings, like Boys Do Fall in Love, [by] Patrick Angus (1984) and there's one that is a quotation from a Derek Jarman journal. So in part, it's kind of trying to construct a narrative or a sensibility of a historical study,’ Carroll told Wallpaper*.
At his eponymous label JW Anderson, Jonathan Anderson showed at series of works by artist Patrick Carroll
Carroll and Anderson have worked together once before, for Anderson’s first Milan catwalk in June 2022, where models wore Carroll’s knitted outfits to welcome guests to the show.
’I think that for each of us, it's pretty evident what we admire in each other's work,’ Carroll continued. ’Which is primarily an investment in art and the history of art and a desire to continue that history on.’
‘Loewe Lamps’ is on view at the Palazzo Citterio, Milan, until 21 April 2024.
‘Days’, an installation showcasing Patrick Carroll’s artworks, is on view at JW Anderson Milan now.
Patrick Carroll’s works in JW Anderson’s Milan store
Scarlett Conlon a freelance journalist and consultant specialising in fashion, design and lifestyle. Before relocating to Italy, she held roles as deputy fashion editor at The Guardian and Observer and news editor at British Vogue in London. She is currently a regular contributor Wallpaper* Magazine among other prominent international fashion and design titles.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
‘Things are not what they seem’: Unpacking the S/S 2025 menswear shows
Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss explores the trends and takeaways from this season’s menswear shows, from an embrace of ‘irrational clothing’ to couture-level craft and eclectic new takes on tailoring
By Jack Moss Published
-
Revisiting the showstopping runway sets of men’s fashion week
As Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2025 draws to a close, Wallpaper* picks the season’s most transporting runway sets, from giant cats at Dior Men to a ‘fairytale ravescape’ at Prada
By Jack Moss Published
-
Tennis fashion for serving a style ace this summer
As Wimbledon begins on Monday (1 July 2024), the fashion brands serving up tennis style this summer, from Gucci’s 1970s-inspired capsule collection to a Loewe T-shirt from ‘Challengers’
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Met Gala 2024 and ‘Sleeping Beauties’ exhibition: what to expect
Everything Wallpaper* knows about the Met Gala 2024 this evening (6 May 2024) – from the theme, exhibition and dress code to the A-list co-chairs
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Utilitarian men’s fashion that will elevate your everyday
From Prada to Margaret Howell, utilitarian and workwear-inspired men’s fashion gets an upgrade for S/S 2024
By Jack Moss Published
-
The best fashion moments at Milan Design Week 2024
Scarlett Conlon discovers the moments fashion met design at Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week 2024, as Loewe, Hermès, Bottega Veneta, Prada and more staged intriguing presentations and launches across the city
By Scarlett Conlon Published
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiences
Aesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Thom Browne shows how to make the perfect bed with theatrical performance at Milan Design Week 2024
American fashion designer Thom Browne makes his Milan Design Week debut with a new homeware collection created in collaboration with historic linen company Frette
By Scarlett Conlon Published