“While reflecting on the last 11 years, I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by people with the imagination, the skills, the tenacity and the resourcefulness to find a way to say ‘yes’ to all my wildly ambitious ideas,” Anderson said in a statement. “While my chapter draws to a close, Loewe’s story will continue for many years to come, and I will look on with pride, watching it continue to grow, the amazing Spanish brand I once called home.”
Sidney Toledano, adviser to LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, considers Anderson “to be amongst the very best”.
“What he has contributed to Loewe goes beyond creativity. He has built a rich and eclectic world with strong foundations in craft which will enable the house to thrive long after his departure,” Toledano said.
The announcement comes after Loewe’s co-ed presentation took place on 10 March. “If the Loewe show was sorely missed in Paris this season, the lasting impression of walking through this exhibition was of just how much fun Anderson has had,” wrote Vogue’s Sarah Mower. Since the day before his presentation, Anderson has shared a number of retrospective posts on his personal Instagram account that many read as a goodbye to Loewe.
The Northern Irish designer was appointed creative director of the LVMH-owned Spanish luxury house in September 2013. Anderson created his namesake brand JW Anderson in 2008 and caught the attention of Sophie Brocart, senior vice president of LVMH fashion ventures at the time – notably with his autumn/winter 2013 menswear collection. It was the founding collection of his “shared wardrobe” approach, based on the idea that men could pick and choose from women’s wardrobes, just as women have long been able to do from those of men’s.
LVMH took a minority stake in the brand in 2013. At the same time, Loewe was seeking its next creative director following the departure of Stuart Vevers. Then LVMH Fashion Group CEO Pierre-Yves Roussel made a bold move: he entrusted the then-29-year-old designer with the creative direction of Loewe. Anderson’s appointment was accompanied by organisational changes: the design studio was moved from Madrid to Paris, while the JW Anderson brand remained based in London.
Loewe, a leather goods brand founded in 1846 and bought by LVMH in 1996, underwent a significant transformation that paid off. Under Anderson’s tenure, sales went from €230 million in 2014 to €1.07 billion in 2024, according to Morgan Stanley estimates. Ready-to-wear took off – Anderson’s collections were experimental, clean, but at the same time, made for daily life. Meanwhile, leather goods went from strength to strength; he notably created in 2015 the Puzzle bag, which became a staple. He kept craftsmanship at the centre and created the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize in 2016 to support and give visibility to vanishing crafts.
The charismatic, hard-working designer has never ceased to innovate and amaze, having collaborated, among others, with Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli, Ibiza’s famous store Paula’s on a collection called Paula’s Ibiza and Swiss running brand On.
He is a 360-degree designer with a precise vision for brand building. Loewe campaigns starring Maggie Smith, Jamie Dornan and Daniel Craig always got people talking. “There’s a quirkiness and great consistency to them,” says Serge Carreira, associate professor at Sciences Po Paris. Anderson also collaborated with director Luca Guadagnino, having designed costumes for his films Challengers and Queer. “The brand codes that he has created, rooted in craft, will live on as his legacy,” Lepoivre said.
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