Following the 2016 opening of a boutique at Chadstone, an upscale shopping centre in suburban Melbourne, and its very first retail space in the country, LOEWE has since shifted gear, opening a string of stores across the nation. The Madrid-based fashion house has recently shifted its focus back to Australia‘s undisputed fashion capital and inaugurated a second boutique smack in the middle of the city’s Central Business District. Occupying a spacious corner unit on the ground floor of the landmark T & G Building on Collins Street, the retail space features a collaborative interior design by the brand’s creative director Jonathan Anderson and its in-house design team. The chosen aesthetic is derived from the design concept for Casa LOEWE, the brand’s division of uber luxe flagship stores, fusing fashion, art and design, and sees a series of settings which not only signal LOEWE‘s highly regarded artisanal edge, but also its patronage of artisanal craft across the planet. The interiors blend handmade ceramics, brass and turned iron in warm contrast to expansive glass windows and concrete floors.
A striking exterior of glazed pink tiles is offset by shades of yellow, white and blue, creating a space that pops with colour, but also strongly references the brand’s Spanish roots. Upon entering the store through the double-fronted street entrance, shoppers are met by a large-scale densely coloured painting by Scottish artist Lorna Robertson, followed by a curation of works by international artists. The works include a sculpture by New Zealand-based artist Kate Newby, a photograph by late Welsh photographer Angus McBean, and small-scale piece by American artist Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt. An equally discerning selection on furniture pieces inhabits the space, such as Dutch designer and architect Gerrit Rietveld‘s iconic Utrecht and Steltman chairs, sitting atop wool carpets handmade in Spain, depicting images by British textile and graphic artist John Allen. A coffee table by celebrated Belgian interior designer Axel Vervoordt sits alongside LOEWE-crafted martini tables. The new LOEWE store carries the full range of women’s and men’s apparel, accessories, shoes, bags, small leather goods, jewellery pieces, fragrances and home scents.
LOEWE
161 Collins Street, Shop 10 (CBD)
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Telephone: +61 3 80808615
Daily 10am-6pm
Publishers Note
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