After having been closed for some three years CASA LOEWE, the label’s Barcelona flagship store reopens on Paseo de Gracia. Fans and neophytes alike are going to be lining up (literally) to visit this gestamtkunstwerk, a project that stands testament to the label’s commitment to craft, design, art and architecture. Loewe’s artistic director Jonathan Anderson is the creative force behind this modern crafts expression of Spain’s most important maison.

CASA LOWE BARCELONA is accommodated with the renowned Casa Lléo Morera originally designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner in the early 1900s. Although the organisation of the store has effectively been retained visitors will find a very different interior. CASA LOEWE Barcelona has been designed to evoke a gallery, with works from LOEWE’s art collection interspersed with LOEWE products, alongside new specially commissioned installations for the store. There is a beautifully balanced approach to providing a mixture of neutral textures and backdrops so that the pieces themselves as well as the artworks always remain the focus. The colour palette reflects the exterior of the building with its pink granite columns, soft sandstone detailing and brightly coloured mosaics. During the conservation of the original ceilings intricate gold-leaf detailing from the Domènech i Montaner design was rediscovered and restored by experts.

The interior is organised not only as a showcase for the products but also a series of artistic interventions from selected artists. Central to the Casa Loewe concept is the presentation of works from the Loewe collection, a growing anthology of art, craft and design, each piece has been selected on principles of excellence, innovation and craftsmanship. A large-scale site-specific sculpture built from bamboo by Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV is featured on the mezzanine level. This delicate gossamer structure straddles the room in sinuous curves like a living organism. Similarly a suspended macramé sculpture by Catalan artist Aurelia Muñoz is set into a Mediterranean blue ceramic clad corner of the basement area. Above the connecting stairs a dramatic black Dangling Hairy Hug by Haegue Yang is a companion piece to Richard Wright’s stained-glass window. Interspersed within the store are eight ceramics by Pablo Picasso selected by Anderson.

Together with the brand’s creations, the design and artworks at CASA LOEWE BARCELONA are exhibited in equal reverence and without hierarchy, engaging a cultural dialogue unique to LOEWE that spans wider than fashion.