Art Gallery, Luxurious Store? Loewe Amsterdam Is An Artisanal Affair
To mark the first day of the last month of the year, LOEWE decided to gift us all with a little something to get into the festive spirit.
For the first time ever, the brand opens its flagship store in the Netherlands, of course, in the heart of the capital, Amsterdam. The two-story space is located on the city’s most opulent shopping street, P.C. Hooftstraat (named after poet and playwright Pieter Cornelisz) — a fitting spot considering craftsmanship runs deep in the roots of the road and the brand.
Much like LOEWE Berlin, which is a slice of high-craft heaven, the Dutch counterpart follows firmly in suit. The black and white storefront stands out in the distinguished shopping district, offering 129 sqm of pure LOEWE luxury — and with Jonathan Anderson at the helm, it’s no surprise that art, craft, and culture remain at the center of the brand’s physical presence.
Echoing the recently reopened CASA LOEWE in Barcelona and the new CASA LOEWE in Lisbon, the Amsterdam store is all about artisanship. Handmade, colored ceramics make you feel like you’re in an artist’s studio, marble and glass podiums add a touch of dense fragility (how is this even possible?!), while the concrete floors and walls give an industrial edge. The whole store is like a journey through different periods and moments in art history, and it couldn’t be any more signature LOEWE if it tried.
In addition to Rietveld's Utrecht armchairs that break up the interior, Anderson opted for some George Nakashima ones too, to build on the philosophy of simplicity and respect for the existing grains and properties of wood, another nod to LOEWE’s love of natural materials and craft.
Separate from the women’s RTW accessories like bags and scarves to hats and jewelry, the store serves as a mini gallery, exhibiting beautiful hand-picked pieces from the brand’s ever-growing art collection. Two small Ron Nagle ceramic cups from the California Clay movement deck the shelves, while Jos Devriendt’s green and orange mushroom-like lamps add a playful note to the upstairs. A Tomonari Hashimoto (a LOEWE Craft Prize finalist in 2019) metal oxide sculpture has a swirling aesthetic, kind of reminiscent of an oil slick, while Cian-Yu Bai, Frank Walker, and Jan Van Kessel paintings hang on the walls. It’s a mix-and-match of all types of creative practices, but it is this exact varied assembly of mediums, eras, and forms that is characteristic of LOEWE’s approach to the worlds of art and artisanship.
LOEWE celebrated with an in-store event that saw a pool of Amsterdam's VIP creatives and fashion-savvy individuals fill the space to bring it to life. From the buzzing energy brought by the guests to the elegant and bright interior that LOEWE Amsterdam offers alone, it was definitely a night for the books.
For more information on LOEWE Amsterdam, check out loewe.com or visit the store in person at P.C. Hooftstraat, Pieter Cornelisz. Hooftstraat 97, 1071 BR Amsterdam.
