More Than Just An Instagram Backdrop

After a roaring debut in Shanghai, the Loewe Crafted World Exhibition returns to Tokyo, where the public can experience Loewe's near-bicentennial commitment to craftsmanship. Spatial design firm OMA gives Men's Folio an inside look of what it takes to tell stories through the language of craft.

- LingJie Tuang

At Loewe, craft exists as more than a corporate decision to differentiate the brand from its competitors. Tangible beyond its leather goods and garments, craft is the universal language, the collective history... something that gives the brand a sense of belonging, according to Sheila Loewe, a fourth-generation member of the founding family and president of the Loewe Foundation. “In the face of technological change and a decline in the availability of raw materials, it has become increasingly important to recognise and celebrate craft, which is what we do at the Foundation,” explains Loewe. Established by former creative director Jonathan Anderson in 2016, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize is now a prestigious platform for spotlighting endangered artisanal practices passed down through generations, now adapted for contemporary society.

Where the public gets to immerse themselves in Loewe's near-bicentennial commitment to craft is at the Crafted World Exhibition. After a roaring success at its Shanghai debut last year, the exhibition returns to Tokyo, Japan, to give the public another dazzling yet intimate look into the stories Loewe has told through the language of craft across its archival designs, along with the works of its Craft Prize winners. To get a closer look behind Loewe's velvet curtains, Men’s Folio converses with OMA, the spatial design firm responsible for putting together the Crafted World Exhibition.

HOW IS THE TOKYO EXHIBITION DIFFERENT FROM THE INITIAL ONE IN SHANGHAI LAST YEAR?