This is only Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez’s second collection at Loewe, which makes their position even more fascinating. They stepped into a House that didn’t need rescuing, a House already known for its wit, its playfulness, and its ability to make fashion feel intelligent without losing its sense of humour. The question hanging over their second outing felt inevitable: How do you follow that without repeating it? Their answer seems to be leaning even further into joy.
The tone was set before the show even began. The invitation arrived as an inflatable leather lobster claw inspired by the work of artist Cosima von Bonin. Slightly absurd, slightly surreal, and completely charming. It felt like a reminder that fashion can still be curious and playful even when it takes craft very seriously. Inside the venue, that conversation continued. Sculptures by von Bonin appeared throughout the space, with whales and bulldogs placed across the seating as if they were quietly attending the show with everyone else. The space was washed in yellow from the floor up, a colour that made the whole room feel instantly alive. As the models walked across it, the clothes somehow felt even more vibrant, as if the floor itself had joined the collection.
What worked particularly well this season was how clearly each look could be understood. Nothing felt buried under excessive styling. As garments came down the runway you could read them immediately and imagine them existing outside the show. It is a surprisingly powerful approach because the moment you understand a piece, you start picturing it in your own wardrobe. And that is usually the exact moment your credit card becomes slightly nervous.
The outerwear alone could convince a rational person to reconsider their financial discipline. Pieces appeared that seemed to melt from one colour into another, silhouettes that felt sculptural yet surprisingly wearable. At one point, a fur jacket arrived with matching mittens and the whole thing had a slightly monstrous charm, like the most elegant creature you might encounter during winter.
Colour is one of McCollough and Hernandez’s strongest tools at Loewe. Red, violet, green, blue, camel, orange and that unmistakable yellow that has quickly become part of the House’s identity.
Behind all the humour and brightness sits something far more serious: craft. At Loewe, this word is not decorative language but a real working philosophy. One corset constructed from tubular beads required more than seven thousand five hundred hours of work. The Amazona 180 bag appeared transformed into porcelain, sitting somewhere between fashion object and sculpture. Even Cosima von Bonin’s playful imagery entered the collection through bags decorated with tiny dog and crab charms that felt mischievous but beautifully made.
If there is one detail that felt less convincing, it might be the beauty direction. The slicked-back, wet hair that continues to appear on runways has reached the point where it risks dulling collections that otherwise feel fresh. When the garments are this energetic, it almost makes you wish for something equally playful happening on the beauty side.
Still, this was a confident show. Focused, colourful, and joyful without trying too hard to prove anything. Somewhere in the middle of that rainbow there was even the most perfect black piece quietly passing through look fifty-three, which somehow managed to stand out despite everything happening around it.
Loewe may be more than one hundred eighty years old, yet right now it feels remarkably young. And if this collection proves anything, it is that fashion works best when it remembers something very simple: the best clothes make you smile first and think later.
