Josef and Anni Albers were the closest thing midcentury art had to a power couple. Josef, known for his abstract color field paintings, and Anni, a textile artist and printmaker, could also represent the dual sides of Jonathan Anderson’s approach at Loewe: clean-lined modernism mixed with a love of craft. When he was preparing to take on the post, the designer told me in a 2023 interview, he knew he wanted his Loewe to be “about classicism, about making, and less about trend.”
In that spirit, Anderson unveiled a scrapbook-inspired fall/winter 2025 collection, delivered in the form of a presentation and done in collaboration with the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation. The setting for the event was the Hôtel de Maisons, an 18th-century landmark, and the pieces were shown alongside artwork by Anthea Hamilton, Zizipho Poswa, Yoshihiro Suda and others, lending the proceedings a gallery-like feel.
The Josef side of his inspiration showed up on color-blocked trenches, rounded jersey dresses, a bag featuring colorful concentric rectangles, and combinations like a burnt-orange leather coat and dark green over-the-knee boots (both suspended in midair, as though inhabited by an invisible wearer). Meanwhile, the craft-centric Anni side was evident in chunky knits, nubby multicolored coats, and dresses that looked spun from a single spool of thread. Anderson’s signature witty pairings were also evident here, including a jeweled gown paired with gorpcore sneakers, and a leather jackets that appeared to be made from belts. Who needs the runway when you can create your own art show?
Véronique Hyland is ELLE’s Fashion Features Director and the author of the book Dress Code, which was selected as one of The New Yorker's Best Books of the Year. Her writing has previously appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, W, New York magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and Condé Nast Traveler.
