On the long list of debuts this season, Loewe’s was perhaps the most fascinating. Unlike many of the new wave of creative directors, who had been jumping around from maison to maison, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez were fresh. Well, perhaps that isn’t the best adjective. For the past 25 years, the two have been titans of the New York scene through Proenza Schouler. Now, for their first time at Loewe, the duo had the most to prove. How would they translate their language into the Spanish brand? As their debut proved, the answer is: easily. The collection was fresh, even youthful at times, with a distinctive and ingenious use of house codes.
Spring/Summer 2026 was inspired by the latter season. Dresses and shirts offered natural gradients, as if burnt by the sun, moving from bright yellows to faded beiges. Fluffy towel dresses spoke to the same feeling, as if they had just been wrapped haphazardly after a dip in the sea. These were representative of the fun they had interpreting Loewe’s codes. Known for its craft, the brand has grown to become synonymous with it in the industry. Here, towel dresses were 3D printed. More traditional considerations of craft came in shredded leather jeans and scrunched tees.
Layering was the word of the day. Stacked shirts created the illusion of multiplicity, while angular black dresses jolted with colour at the seams, as if exploding with bright magentas and happy oranges. With a sunny disposition and sunnier palette, McCollough and Hernandez passed their first collection with flying colours.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
