Jonathan Anderson’s Fall/Winter 2024 Loewe menswear show was a playful, intoxicating dive into the contradictions of modern masculinity. Imagine polished leather jackets strutting alongside messy bedhead hair, intricate art installations flanking casual sweatpants, and celebrity faces peering from video screens amid naked torsos. Anderson called it “collaged realness,” and that’s exactly what it felt like-a vibrant tapestry woven from pop culture, art, and the ever-present hum of social media.
Inspiration blossomed from a collaboration with American artist Richard Hawkins, whose provocative paintings of young men served as the backdrop for the show. These shirtless figures, drawn from a mix of pop icons, art history and a dash of daring, set the tone for a collection that revels in the ambiguity of contemporary masculinity. The message? We’re bombarded with images of “ideal manliness” online, but what does it really mean to be a man in the digital age?
Anderson cleverly played with this idea, calling it the “algorithm of masculinity.” His clothes embodied the constant bombardment of information and desire we face through screens. Layered shirts peeked out from unbuckled half-belts, suggesting a casual disheveled look. T-shirts spilled out of oversized coats, mimicking the carefree roll-out-of-bed aesthetic. And here’s the kicker: some garments were actually fused together, a sartorial metaphor for how social media can blur the lines between reality and curated self-image.
But Anderson wasn’t just criticizing. He was also celebrating the freedom and fluidity of the modern man. Chunky knits mingled with smooth leather, sweatpants coexisted with tailored pants, and playful graphics danced across basic tees. It was a celebration of individual expression, where comfort and luxury weren’t mutually exclusive.
The genius, as always with Anderson, was in the styling. Layers piled on top of layers, proportions challenged, and unexpected juxtapositions made every look a conversation starter. He wasn’t afraid to inject a touch of humor, sending models down the runway with socks seemingly glued to shoes and pants fused to jackets. It was a playful wink at the absurdity of the quest for online perfection, a reminder that fashion can be fun, irreverent, and entirely your own.
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The soundtrack echoed this sentiment, jumping from western movie scores to snippets of interviews with Sean Penn and Justin Bieber. It was a sonic collage that reflected the diverse influences at play in the collection, a global melting pot of Americana, pop culture, and personal expression.
And that’s ultimately what Anderson’s Loewe Fall/Winter 2024 show was about: transcending the confines of social media-dictated masculinity, embracing the contradictions and complexities of real men, and reminding us that even in the age of algorithms, individuality reigns supreme. We are not just online avatars, we are the Internet, a living tapestry of experiences woven together, one messy, beautiful outfit at a time.
Read more: JW Anderson Fall/Winter 2024 – Milan Fashion Week Men’s
©Photo: Loewe
