New products / Fashion house - 11/17/20
‘I have always been drawn to artists whose practices expand, push and challenge conventions. Over the past few years, the LOEWE capsule collection, which comes out right before the holiday season, has allowed me to delve into my passion for art imbued with the materiality of craft. I have long admired the work of Ken Price who once said, ‘We’ve been cited as the people who broke away from the crafts hierarchy and substituted so-called ‘total freedom’!’. This is utterly inspiring. Price is the subject of this year’s collection.
Born in the thirties and active in America, where he established himself in the early sixties as part of the milieu of the legendary Ferus Gallery, Ken (Kenneth) Price (1935-2012) was committed to clay as a material. In his small-scale, brightly coloured ceramic sculptures one can see nods to ancient Mexican earthenware, traditional folk pottery and the Bauhaus fusion of crafts and fine arts. Price produced both abstract and biomorphic forms, as well as more functional objects which were part of various display devices such as his ‘town units’. I was taken by the insouciance and the energy the objects in these units emanate: boldly hued cityscapes and landscapes in a humorous cartoon-like style are scattered all over pottery and plates.
In particular, I took inspiration from a series of twenty unique hand-painted ceramic plates Price made for La Palme restaurant, in Newport Beach, in the early 1980s. Motifs from the La Palme, Easter Island, LA Series and Happy ́s Curios are featured in the LOEWE collection, interpreted as prints, allover prints, intarsia and leather marquetry, unfolding on pieces of clothing as well as leather accessories. With their sunny landscapes, bright pop colors and palms, I found the two LA Series particularly inspiring in terms of stylistic mood: the collection is joyous and very laid back, with loose volumes and cropped culotte trousers that capture LA’s quintessential ease. Ken Price’s colorful drawings feature as prints on silk shirts, sweatshirts and t-shirts, but also on washed denim trousers, drawstring skirts and shirts. The same motifs turn into intarsia on cashmere cardigans and jumpers. Hooded sweatshirts, blousons, silk twill scarves, long mohair scarves and palm-shaped scarves complete the offer.
I am particularly proud of the way we used the motifs on the bags, where they have been interpreted in leather marquetry, an exacting technique that requires quiet mastery to be achieved. Palms and coastal and urban landscapes unfold in intarsia fashion all over the surface of iconic LOEWE bags such as the Puzzle and the Hammock, as well as on small leather goods. LOEWE’s dedication to craft meets Ken Price’s spirit. In addition, the vibrant landscapes of the Easter Island series are featured as prints in canvas on Balloon and Cushion Bamboo Tote bags and on canvas and calfskin pouches. Launched with the Ken Price capsule is the intensely crafted Fringes series, consisting of finely woven leather baskets. We have worked with Craig McDean on pictures that capture the dynamism and the glowing spirit of the project. Behind the sandy boardwalk along which the models stroll, three bespoke shelving units —a nod to Price’s town units— display a selection of Puzzle, Bamboo Bucket and Hammock Bags with Price’s worksreimagined in intarsia.
The collection speaks on many levels. Craft, which is central to the LOEWE ethos, is reassessed in its modern liveliness. An uplifting, and very timely, sense of joy comes to the fore in sunny, Pacific bright hues.’
Jonathan
The LOEWE Ken Price capsule collection is available from 12 November, 2020, just in time for the holiday season.
#LOEWE
#LOEWEKenPrice
Born in the thirties and active in America, where he established himself in the early sixties as part of the milieu of the legendary Ferus Gallery, Ken (Kenneth) Price (1935-2012) was committed to clay as a material. In his small-scale, brightly coloured ceramic sculptures one can see nods to ancient Mexican earthenware, traditional folk pottery and the Bauhaus fusion of crafts and fine arts. Price produced both abstract and biomorphic forms, as well as more functional objects which were part of various display devices such as his ‘town units’. I was taken by the insouciance and the energy the objects in these units emanate: boldly hued cityscapes and landscapes in a humorous cartoon-like style are scattered all over pottery and plates.
In particular, I took inspiration from a series of twenty unique hand-painted ceramic plates Price made for La Palme restaurant, in Newport Beach, in the early 1980s. Motifs from the La Palme, Easter Island, LA Series and Happy ́s Curios are featured in the LOEWE collection, interpreted as prints, allover prints, intarsia and leather marquetry, unfolding on pieces of clothing as well as leather accessories. With their sunny landscapes, bright pop colors and palms, I found the two LA Series particularly inspiring in terms of stylistic mood: the collection is joyous and very laid back, with loose volumes and cropped culotte trousers that capture LA’s quintessential ease. Ken Price’s colorful drawings feature as prints on silk shirts, sweatshirts and t-shirts, but also on washed denim trousers, drawstring skirts and shirts. The same motifs turn into intarsia on cashmere cardigans and jumpers. Hooded sweatshirts, blousons, silk twill scarves, long mohair scarves and palm-shaped scarves complete the offer.
I am particularly proud of the way we used the motifs on the bags, where they have been interpreted in leather marquetry, an exacting technique that requires quiet mastery to be achieved. Palms and coastal and urban landscapes unfold in intarsia fashion all over the surface of iconic LOEWE bags such as the Puzzle and the Hammock, as well as on small leather goods. LOEWE’s dedication to craft meets Ken Price’s spirit. In addition, the vibrant landscapes of the Easter Island series are featured as prints in canvas on Balloon and Cushion Bamboo Tote bags and on canvas and calfskin pouches. Launched with the Ken Price capsule is the intensely crafted Fringes series, consisting of finely woven leather baskets. We have worked with Craig McDean on pictures that capture the dynamism and the glowing spirit of the project. Behind the sandy boardwalk along which the models stroll, three bespoke shelving units —a nod to Price’s town units— display a selection of Puzzle, Bamboo Bucket and Hammock Bags with Price’s worksreimagined in intarsia.
The collection speaks on many levels. Craft, which is central to the LOEWE ethos, is reassessed in its modern liveliness. An uplifting, and very timely, sense of joy comes to the fore in sunny, Pacific bright hues.’
Jonathan
The LOEWE Ken Price capsule collection is available from 12 November, 2020, just in time for the holiday season.
#LOEWE
#LOEWEKenPrice
Designer:
Loewe
SHARE
