Look at Loewe now

In the LVMH family of luxury goods, Louis Vuitton is the brilliant eldest who gets all the acclaim and attention. Celine is the adamant youngest, demanding to be noticed, and Loewe is the dutiful but still somehow ignored middle child. All that is about to change.

In fact, Loewe (pronounced lo-way-vay) has a long illustrious history. One hundred fifty five years of history, to be exact. The firm was founded in Spain by a German trader and the firm developed such expertise in leather and fashion accessories that it soon became the purveyor of leather goods to the Spanish royal family, Spanish aristos and basically anyone who wanted good, enduring products. When Bill Clinton visited Spain, King Juan Carlos gave him a Loewe tie.

Eventually, even other luxury brands took notice. In fact, for years, Loewe factories were producing Louis Vuitton bags until the mother company got smart and bought Loewe. For the past three years, Loewe has been doing internal restructuring and external marketing to get the brand noticed and give it the kind of sexy edge that makes fashionistas drool. The biggest move was signing on Narciso Rodriguez, designer of the most famous wedding gown of the late Nineties, to develop a fashion line for what was strictly a leather goods line. But still, Loewe didn’t get the buzz. So, now, Narciso is gone but LVMH is not giving up. In Asia, they are going all out to give Loewe more presence.

Loewe Asia’s general manager Philippe Robbe and marketing manager Caroline Roberts flew into town to present Loewe’s newest fashion line. Caroline, who is no stranger to Manila as she used to come regularly in her old job at Louis Vuitton, is a force majeure. She is an Asian Jennifer Lopez, with bold streaks in her hair, huge gold hoop earrings, an asymmetric striped top and leather pants, all Loewe of course. She speaks her mind and makes no apologies.

On the other hand, Philippe is the quintessential continental gentleman. He wears a traditional navy blue-tailored suit and a discreet watch. He speaks deliberately and carefully, the ultimate diplomat. He is a Frenchman who is a Pinoy-phile. He even had something positive to say about our current political turbulence. "But it just goes to show that Filipinos have so much soul," he says philosophically. Both Caroline and Philippe have the same goal: to make sure Loewe becomes a major player in the still-booming Asian luxury market. They just have very different ideas on how to do it. That dichotomy may just be the key to their success, the archetypal yin and yang team.

On Narciso Rodriguez:

Caroline: Well, he is even helping us select his successor. It’s a good exit.

Philippe: He is a great designer, but instead of it being Narciso Rodriguez FOR Loewe, it became Loewe FOR Narciso Rodriguez. Narciso is such a personality that the publicity focused more on him and the brand somehow got lost in all that.

On Celebrities:

Caroline: We have dressed Salma Hayek and Charlize Theron. But we do know that Tina Turner and Whitney Houston have bought Loewe and they were not sponsored. They just found our stuff and they liked it. We don’t even have a free-standing store in the States yet, so we are not that known there. We will get more stars so that we get more visibility.

Philippe: I think there is a celebrity in a Loewe sense, people with a certain intellect, a sense of aesthetics... with an appreciation for quality... who can mix (an interest in) fashion with art, music, painting. Some potential Loewe celebrities, or "diplomats" or "ambassadors" are some women in Hong Kong. One of them is an actual Loewe customer. Her name is Sonya, she has a good family background, that is, she moves in the right circles and is a professional in her own right, a dentist. In China, there is a new talent, a ballet dancer and we will be watching her also.

On Being the Less-Known LVMH Brand:

Caroline: Well, the truth is that Loewe is more profitable than Celine. Celine is being really pushed now, because they’re not doing that well. And last year, Loewe sold more handbags than Christian Dior. John Galliano has gone too far and he is not really making a difference with his own brand and Dior. In Hong Kong, I have friends who would buy a Dior bag every year but last year, they thought, would you spend HK$6,000 on a license plate bag? I wouldn’t.

Philippe: It’s a big, big job (to raise awareness of Loewe). And yes, it is very frustrating. Well, it is even difficult to pronounce. In Asia, we have to combat two things. The first is the name. We have to teach people to say it. The second is a prejudice against leather. Many Asians think that it is not for their weather. But in Asia, you go from a hyper-airconditioned car to a hyper-airconditioned hotel. I have never been in so many freezing rooms as I have in Asia. And leather breathes. Some Asians also say that leather gets scratched easily and then it won’t look good anymore. But that gives it a patina and it looks even better.

Old-World Quality Enters New Millennium Markets:

Caroline: Traditionally, Loewe is a brand for the kind of customer who doesn’t like logos. But we will be getting a new bag designer from Vuitton who will be playing around with crest of Loewe, the intertwined four L’s and try to work it in new ways, do a new way with a logo. We will also be playing with exotic leathers... sealskin, crocodile, ostrich, as well as napa and suede. We will be introducing trendier accessories and re-launching the men’s collection.

Philippe: (We must) Communicate, communicate, communicate. We will be organizing exhibits to show exactly what Loewe really is. Loewe will never be a mass brand. Each bag is handcrafted, so that from steps A to Z, it is all done by one person. There is an emotional attachment to that bag, both by the one who makes it and the one who buys it. There are customers who bring in their old Loewe bags for repair and they have an emotional investment in that piece.

The Last Word

Caroline: Loewe shouldn’t be a best-kept secret for another 155 years!

Philippe: I know we will be a success when people stop saying, "How do you say that?" My first personal experience with Loewe was with a leather jacket and I was amazed at the lightness of the leather, it was really a sensuous experience. So I want people to think, "Loewe equals leather." Just like they think, "Rolls Royce is a car."