The first Casa Loewe has landed in Seoul.
Situated within the South Korean capital’s fashion-forward Apgujeong neighborhood in Gangnam, the 433-square-meter, three-story retail space offers the full range of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, alongside bags, shoes, small leather goods, eyewear, home scents and other accessories. A series of artist-designed handbags and baskets, including works by Bamboo artist Hafu Matsumoto and Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai 4th, are available exclusively at the new store.
The Casa Loewe retail concept, the brainchild of Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, aims to offer an eclectic blend of fashion, art, craft and design that exude the charm of an art collector’s home.
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The Apgujeong store, which neighbors Loro Piana, Hublot and a Louis Vuitton flagship, is the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned Spanish house’s 14th storefront in the country.
In sync with other iterations of the shop, a rich palette of handmade green ceramic facade and interiors creates a vivid dialogue with the vibrant commercial district and its surrounding greenery.
Inside the store, cool expanses of concrete offers respite from the outside heat, while accents of oak, brass, marble and shades of blue and brown tiles echo the joyful play often seen in Anderson’s designs.
A selection of designer furniture, including bright Berin Club chairs, angular Utrecht and Steltman chairs, and George Nakashima’s austere woodwork, alongside Loewe leather puffer benches, sit atop abstract carpets designed by the British textile artist John Allen.
A spiraling mass of intertwined bamboo by Chikuunsai creates the centerpiece of the first and second floor, which is complemented by works of Loewe Foundation Craft Prize-winning artists and finalists, such as Eriko Inazaki, Dahye Jeong and Youngsoon Lee.
Other artworks, such as pottery work by John Ward and Zizipho Poswa, Ro Robertson’s torso-alike sculpture, Raphaela Simon and Poppy Jones’ paintings, complete the store.
To celebrate the Seoul shop opening on Thursday, Loewe hosted a party at the neighboring Songeun Art and Cultural Foundation, featuring brand ambassadors, the local press and local talents.
