Jonathan Anderson’s SS19 Loewe collection looked at finding the common threads between contemporary art and 21st-century fashion.

At the Maison de l’UNESCO in Paris, we began with an Anderson-curated exhibition. Lara Favaretto’s spinning car wash brushes and rustic woven baskets by Joe Hogan – the first winner of the Loewe craft prize – outfitted the space, leading into adjoining rooms where record players cradled ceramics by Ryoji Koie and soap bubbles created a mesmeric atmosphere.

 “Placed within this conceit the collection bristles with a Brutalist hedonism,” read the show notes as pieces began to appear, treading that perfect balanced between conceptual and wearable. Kaftan dresses were rendered in exotic leathers, jacquard trousers crinkled, waffled jacquard pieces came crinkled, soft knits were built with bell sleeves that floated like voluminous clouds around models hands, and the brand’s covetable Gate bag was reimagined in thatched wicker – mirroring Hogan’s rustic baskets.

Here, the mid-century elegance was even captured in its colour palette of muted blues, oranges, deep greens and beige; tufts of spectral ostrich feathers adorned tunics and blouses, as well as racing stripes, and colour-blocked collar work, while the recreated façade of London’s experimental SIGNALS gallery from 1964-66 shone through the avant-garde elements and detailing – puff dresses and smocks gilded in beading and fringing . The well-travelled bohemian woman of Loewe’s SS18 line can still be found here in its layered styling, however the intricacies of lattice knitwear, organza leggings and safari shorts motion more towards the daring. Anderson’s approach for the coming season combines opulent, soft finishes with bold patterns, painting the ethereal in a stronger light (but, of course, that undertone of romance remains intact).