Loewe’s 180th Birthday Puts Leather (& Sissy Spacek!) In The Spotlight

In fashion, making it to ten years of running a brand is considered a herculean feat in this day and age. If you can barely wrap your head around a decade, try this one out: Loewe is celebrating its 180th year in 2026, which means it predates the telephone. How’s that for longevity?

While the world gears up for the World Cup and the U.S. prepares for the semiquincentennial, Loewe is propelling itself forward into the next 180 years of its very Spanish history. A bit of background for those not in the loop: A small leather workshop opened in Madrid in 1846, keeping ties with the local community via its supple handicraft and desirable travel pieces. In the 20th century, few touched its leather-work prowess, and eventually it brought on ready-to-wear designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Narciso Rodriguez, and Giorgio Armani to expand its offerings. Around 2015, Loewe swelled from an if-you-know-you-know label to a global juggernaut under the vision of Jonathan Anderson, who created the Puzzle bag, put balloons and eggs on shoes, and enraptured the world — while still designing leather-first.

Now, Loewe is led by designers Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez, who have already struck out on their own with a new bag, the Amazona 180, which features heavily in the 180th birthday campaign starring house ambassador Julia Garner, actress Sissy Spacek, and singer Giselle, among other legends like artist Kara Walker and actress Salma Abu Deif. The original Amazona is one of Loewe’s hero bags dating back to 1975, and has been beloved by everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker to Blair Waldorf. McCullough and Hernandez did a creative 180 by taking one of the straps off and opening up the front face of the bag, making a part-tote-part-satchel that now counts Kate Moss as a fan.

For other fans today, the Amazona 180 alongside other hero bags like the puzzle, is reimagined with lions (Loewe is German for lions) emblazoned on the side and finished with a key tag reading “Loewe 1846 Madrid.” The best part about Loewe’s history is that it never dwells there for too long. Sure, there are constant references to the past, but as the second oldest luxury label in the world, wouldn’t you look back a bit too? The key is moving forward with all the past as a touchpoint and not a final destination. Loewe knows the times more than most, and we can’t wait to keep playing catch up with it for the next 180 years.

The Loewe 180th anniversary capsule collection will be available on June 3 in Loewe stores and on loewe.com.