Loewe Paula’s Ibiza captures the island’s colourful, hedonistic spirit

Fingers crossed and touching wood, this summer looks to be one whereby our escapist desires – fuelled by two years of stop-start travel plans – might finally be fulfilled. Where better encapsulates this mood of unfettered escape than the Balearic island of Ibiza, which for decades has provided a haven for those wishing to escape the quotidian? As Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson says – marking the release of his latest Paula’s Ibiza capsule collection today, named after the legendary 1970s boutique on the island – ‘different generations have escaped here in a quest for personal freedom, making the identity of the place richly layered. Each summer Loewe Paula’s Ibiza allows me to explore one of these layers. Right now, I am thinking of Ibiza as an endless party destination.’ So the mood is set for a ‘sexy and liberated’ collection that captures the island’s hedonistic spirit – ‘a carefree attitude that is quintessentially Ibiza’, as Anderson describes. The ‘staples’ of Paula’s Ibiza – the T-shirt, the shorts, loose pullover knits – are imbued with a feeling of glamour, covered in sequins or ‘outbursts of glitter’. Hemlines are abbreviated, and lace-ups and cut-outs appear throughout, designed to reveal slices of suntanned skin beneath. Elsewhere, a graphic sensibility enlivens the collection, whether colourful surf-inspired prints by veteran photographer LeRoy Grannis, warm ombrés evoking the colours of an Ibiza sunset, or motifs conjuring cocktails, Loewe-branded ice cubes, and slices of fruit (Anderson describes the prints as ‘feisty’). ‘Hedonism has been on my mind a lot of late: fun, partying, moments spent together releasing good energies,’ he says. ‘The sense of serenity of pure white is counterbalanced by jolly outbursts of glitter, sequins and bright notes of orange, pink, red, green. Everything, literally everything, including tube dresses and tops, can be exchanged between men and women. This is the freedom Ibiza is all about.’  An accompanying series of images by photographer Gray Sorrenti – who has collaborated with Loewe on the Paula’s Ibiza project for several seasons – sees the collection transported to Casa Broner, a modernist villa in Ibiza Town that was built in 1960 by German artist and architect Erwin Broner, a student of Le Corbusier. ‘We chose Casa Broner as our set, both as an architectural landmark and for the starkness of its rooms,’ says Anderson. ‘The protagonists are captured partying, frolicking and just having fun… the collection comes alive in a feat of joy, celebrating hedonism and sensuality as ways to be in the moment.’ The collection’s release is accompanied by its olfactory equivalent for full sensory immersion: Loewe Paula’s Ibiza Eclectic, a fresh summertime fragrance and the second eau de toilette to be released as part of the capsule. Arriving in an ombré bottle, notes of orange flower, night-blooming jasmine, Madagascan mandarin and base notes of coconut, vanilla and ylang-ylang have a transporting power, evoking warm evenings spent far from home. §
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