The Selby x Loewe

One of my most favorite blogs is The Selby, which is an interiors blog featuring the photographs of Todd Selby. I hadn't paid it a visit in a long time and when I recently did, I was excited to see that Selby's been to the Loewe factory here in Madrid, which I recently visited myself with my IED-Madrid classmates as I mentioned in my previous post, Masters of Leather. We weren't allowed to take pictures so it's nice to see on Selby's blog exactly what I saw during our guided tour of the factory and museum, and a little bit more. Loewe is a Madrid-based Spanish luxury fashion house founded in 1846. It has a rich tradition of exquisite leather craftsmanship still seen today in its fine leather products such as the iconic Amazona bag.

Photos via The Selby

The old man in the last photo is Señor Enrique Loewe, retired President of the company. I love the inspired handwritten questionnaire Señor Loewe filled out on Selby's page about the brand. He actually gave a talk in the school where I was taking my master's, where he's apparently the director of the fashion communication program. What I remember most from the talk is his message that it is up to our generation to create new things, and to preserve traditional craftsmanship. Also, to be conscious about our culture, the environment, and the world we live in. He expressed that luxury is worth a lot of money because of the quality of the materials and the value of every component that goes into making the products. I think it's true that the world has changed so much. Globalization and mass production have sadly killed so many artisanal industries. Gone are the days of our grandparents when the norm was to spend your money on high quality products, to buy or have something made in a local shop, or to even just make things yourself. Loewe has put up a school where they train leather artisans who will take over the production of their leather goods. Luxury is expensive but when you think about it, you could have already bought a high quality leather bag that would last your whole life from a luxury brand if you put all of the money you've spent in the past year on subpar quality products from high street retailers like Zara, H&M and the like. The truth is that we have succumbed to everything fast; fast fashion, fast food, fast service. Changing the consumerism landscape is a big challenge to take on, even just being a responsible consumer can be a difficult task. I'm just glad there are brands like Loewe that try to preserve their artisanal roots ❤