Loewe opens new store-cum-gallery in Title *Miami’s Design District
Jonathan Anderson is not a man of convention. He dressed men in womenswear on the catwalk long before it became a zeitgeisty thing to do, and he recently scooped both the menswear and womenswear designer of the year at the British Fashion Awards 2015 for his own line; the first designer in history to do so.
So when Anderson set about creating Loewe’s first North American store since being appointed as creative director of the luxury Spanish house in September 2013, instead of creating an industry-standard clean white retail space he imported an 18th century stone granary building sourced from a small town on the border between Galicia and Portugal. 'I think in today’s world, and with consumerism, I feel like we have to be able to push the envelope in terms of shopping environments. My whole thing has been that stores are public spaces so it’s important they are changeable,' says Anderson. '[Stores should be] able to be peaceful environments in which they act as a kind of a social agitator.'
Anderson’s ultimate aim for Loewe, he says, is to transform the luxury house into a cultural brand. As a step towards that, before the store opens on 25 February 2016 in Miami’s Design District, it will house an art exhibition curated by Anderson in conjunction with the Loewe Foundation – perfectly timed for the well-heeled art crowd which descends on the city for Art Basel Miami Beach.
Showcasing the work of four major British artists – Anthea Hamilton, Paul Nash, Lucie Rie and Rose Wylie – the bold, contemporary works stand at odds with the traditional stone and wood structure in which they are housed. 'What attracted me to bringing these artists together was the idea of past, present future, domestic scape and how you live with art,' says Anderson. 'For me, Paul Nash’s body of photography is an incredibly important piece of work, it shows landscape in incredible context and stance.' He considers the Austrian-born British potter Lucie Rie as 'an important 21st century ceramist,' and of Rose Wiley’s giant canvases scrawled with child-like paintings, he offers, 'I feel she has this idea of now, looking through the world through a naive context which I think is incredibly important.'
Anderson fell in love with Anthea Hamilton’s mixed-media installations when a friend introduced him to the work: 'I felt like it was probably the most cutting and peaceful bodies of work I have seen in a long time. If there were one piece I’d like to take home it would be the Alabaster Legs by Hamilton. I feel like its a very new take on culture - I think it’s an incredible piece.'
Anderson concludes, 'For me luxury is not how we perceive it today. Luxury takes in the chair, the colour, the bag, the music but how it has to reflect the world today, not the world of the past.'
INFORMATION
The exhibition runs from 2 December until 17 January 2016. For more information, visit Loewe’s website
ADDRESS
3841 NE 2nd Ave #400
Miami
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Tilly is a British writer, editor and digital consultant based in New York, covering luxury fashion, jewellery, design, culture, art, travel, wellness and more. An alumna of Central Saint Martins, she is Contributing Editor for Wallpaper* and has interviewed a cross section of design legends including Sir David Adjaye, Samuel Ross, Pamela Shamshiri and Piet Oudolf for the magazine.
-
Three sleek new design showrooms you need to see in Los Angeles
Three international design showrooms have started a retail design boom in Los Angeles. Here are the stores to put on your radar
By Carole Dixon Published
-
Brutalism in film: the beautiful house that forms the backdrop to The Room Next Door
The Room Next Door's production designer discusses mood-boarding and scene-setting for a moving film about friendship, fragility and the final curtain
By Anne Soward Published
-
How Leigh Bowery and the Blitz Kids defined 1980s subculture with make-up
As Leigh Bowery and the Blitz Kids of 1980s London are celebrated in a new exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum, Isobel Van Dyke explores the hair and make-up looks that defined them
By Isobel Van Dyke Published
-
Design Miami 2022: highlights from the fair and around town
Design Miami 2022 (30 November – 4 December) aims at ‘rebooting the roots of our relationship with nature and collective structures, ecospheres, and urban contexts’
By Sujata Burman Last updated
-
Nendo’s collaborations with Kyoto artisans go on view in New York
‘Nendo sees Kyoto’ is on view at Friedman Benda (until 15 October 2022), showcasing the design studio's collaboration with six artisans specialised in ancient Japanese crafts
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Italian craftsmanship comes to Los Angeles in this eclectic Venice Canals apartment
Boffi Los Angeles celebrates a juxtaposition of texture throughout a waterside bolthole
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Design Miami/Basel 2022 explores the Golden Age
Design Miami/Basel 2022, led by curatorial director Maria Cristina Didero, offers a positive spin after the unprecedented times of the pandemic, and looks at the history and spirit of design
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Kvadrat’s flagship New York showrooms encompass colourful design codes
Industrial designer Jonathan Olivares and architect Vincent Van Duysen have worked with Danish textile brand Kvadrat on the vast new space, also featuring furniture by Moroso
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
What to see at New York Design Week 2022
Discover Wallpaper’s highlights from New York Design Week 2022 (10 – 20 May 2022): the fairs, exhibitions and design openings to discover
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Colour defines LA ceramics studio and showroom of Bari Ziperstein
Step inside the multifunctional ceramics studio, office and showroom of designer and artist Bari Ziperstein, designed by local firm Foss Hildreth
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Design for Ukraine: Bocci and Design Miami join forces to raise funds
The online sale of iconic Bocci pieces will benefit GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, providing urgently needed humanitarian aid
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated