Stuffed animals, sportswear and Sissy Spacek: a dispatch from Loewe FW26

The vibes are good. The sun is shining on both sides of the channel the morning I make the journey to Paris for the Loewe show, where Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough will present their FW26 collection for the house. Catching an early Eurostar from London, the sky is a clear break of blue after what has been the dreariest of winters. And where better to look for a sense of joy and distraction than the runway?

Loewe in particular are ready to deliver. On my journey from Gare du Nord, I spy several rotating billboards displaying the house’s SS26 campaigns, executed with clean lines, bright primary colours and muses such as Isla Johnston and Talia Ryder. When I arrive at my hotel in the 9ème arrondissement, I am met with my invitation: a bright yellow box with Loewe in blue script. Show invites are a game of one-upmanship in fashion week (see: the rings for attendees of Schiaparelli or the dandelion glass sculpture for guests at Chloé). But no other invitation had the sense of humour of Loewe. Lined with a green gingham print, the box contains an inflatable of a black crab claw. An invitation to the beach? A pool party? A picnic? All to be revealed. 

First, however, a trip to Île Saint Louis, an oval of streets positioned in the Seine. I head down to L’Escale, to meet Shaden Safieddine Tazi, a filmmaker and friend of A Rabbit’s Foot. Over an assiette de fromage and a glass of wine, we discuss Paris’s vibrant cultural scene, which includes the opening of new cinemas (most notably the Martin Scorsese-backed La Clef in the Latin Quarter) and a wave of artists and creatives flocking to the capital from cities such as New York and London. 

Amongst them are Hernandez and McCollough. The pair—creative and life partners—moved to Paris from New York when they were chosen to take over at Loewe. Meeting at Parsons School of Design, they founded Proenza Schouler in 2002, a label synonymous with downtown insouciance and a certain kind of it-girl, from Chloë Sevigny to Binx Walton. At Loewe, they have put their stamp on the house with impressive alacrity. Their debut last season cannily balances the craft and heritage of the Spanish brand–founded in 1846 as a purveyor of leather goods—with a sun-drenched optimism fit for Ibiza.

Whilst their debut took place at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, the sophomore collection ventured beyond the boulevard péripherique to the verdant pastures of the Château de Vincennes. The morning of the show I head down to meet my colleague Lauren at the Château Voltaire in the 2ème arrondissement where I am happy to partake in her breakfast order (a tray of viennoisserie and fresh fruit). The glamour is swiftly undercut when Paris traffic means we ditch our Uber for a dash to the metro from Palais Royal. At least Ligne 1—the yellow line—is a Loewe colour.

The invitation makes sense when we see the show location. Inside the Château walls the brand has constructed a huge structure covered in a green gingham print, whilst inside the floors are a lacquered yellow. Well before the front row, a few unexpected guests—in the way of stuffed crustaceans, killer whales and canines—have already taken their seats. Rendered in dark hues, the giant stuffed toys are a collaboration with the German artist Cosima Von Bonin. “We’re obsessed with her,” say the designers of Von Bonin. “Stuffed animal sculptures which are also demented, weird and strange. That juxtaposition felt very relevant. Joy with an undercurrent of something menacing.”

The front row didn’t disappoint on the human front, either. And pleasingly for A Rabbit’s Foot, there was a strong contingent of actors and film people in the mix. Among the first to arrive was Eva Victor—actor-writer-director of Sorry, Baby (who I interviewed in Issue 13), who catches up with her co-star Lucas Hedges. Other front-row names include Théodore Pellerin, Aubrey Plaza, Baz Luhrmann, Giselle, Emily Ratajkowski, Metro Boomin, Lil Yachty, Sandra Bernhard and Sarah Pigeon, who, hot off the heels (or should I say loafers) from her performance as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in Ryan Murphy’s Love Story, grabs plenty of attention.

Actors Talia Ryder and True Whittaker also turned heads, skipping hand-in-hand through the castle entrance in matching SS26 dresses. It was nice to say hello too to Ottessa Moshfegh and Oscar-winning director Jonathan Glazer. Key to the mix was Loewe’s new global ambassador Julia Garner and the one and only Sissy Spacek, the iconic scream queen of Brian de Palma’s 1976 Carrie. I speak to Spacek backstage, where she reveals that, aged 76, this is her first ever fashion show. “I was blown away,” she says. Her tips for first-time fashion weekers? “Wear comfortable shoes.”

The collection gets into swing. With a bassy techno soundtrack, the looks provide instant phwack! to the senses—latex slips, and ombré fur dresses and coats. As alluded to with the Von Bonin collaborations, whilst the colours and fabrics are generally bright and glossy, whilst black undertones and hooded silhouettes which break up the collection, do add a sense of menace. Yet the overwhelming sense is still joyfulness as particularly through inflatable garments such as coats and scarves. “What’s lighter than air?,” explain the designers backstage. “There’s a joyfulness and humour, and a levity to making things. That’s kind of what we all need right now.” From my vantage on the second row, even Anna Wintour can’t help but crack a smile.  

As a co-ed collection, the show was also a preview of McCollough and Hernandez’s menswear offering (they will present a men’s collection at the shows in June). “We thought it was going to feel different, but it’s pretty much the same process. Boys, they are taller sometimes so there’s more fabric,” they quip. “But it’s still about proportion, colour, line.” Hailing as they do from the United States, the designers also emphasised the collection’s indebtedness to sportswear (particularly noteworthy are the raincoats and the waterproof kitten heels). “It is so in our blood. So it would be a strange thing to reject.” 

The show emphasises how the pair are establishing their codes gradually, rather than tearing up the rule book anew each time. “Building a world, everything should speak the same language. These days you have to keep your vision very tight or people get confused,” they explain. “We are celebrating the codes of Loewe which is craft and Spanishness.” (It’s noteworthy that Hernandez, whose family is Spanish, is particularly set on restoring a more “solar” vocabulary to the house). Celebrating their 180th anniversary this year, Loewe mark it with the launch of the Amazona 180 bag. First launched in 1975, this new iteration can be worn slouched and open, with crossbody or short straps—so suitable wherever a Loewe girl—or guy—might end up. 

And that night it’s the Loewe party—where the festive feeling continues. When catching up with a friend earlier that day she says she is fed up with fashion parties where people don’t dance. It is quite the opposite at the Loewe afterparty. In a nod to the show, the cocktails have names such as Hermit Crab and Sloth Lobster, and the whole place is bathed in a dark red light. With techno music by Crystallmess and Bobby Beethoven filling out the dance floor, it feels like a corner of Brooklyn in the 8ème.

Before heading back to London, I stop at Terminus Nord—a bistro which is a bit of an institution for Eurostar regulars. I order moules marinères and a crème brûlée and when the shiny black shells arrive, I think back fondly to the show’s crustaceans. Just as I spot a Loewe advert in the near distance, the waiter winds up the canopy to let in the sunshine.