The inextricable connection between art and fashion is explored in the Loewe SS23 menswear campaign, with the latter used as a medium to delve into the former. The campaign comprises both portrait and still-life compositions, with the Spanish luxury fashion house referencing the work of British still-life and portrait painter William Nicholson and the oeuvre of American photographer George Platt Lynes.
References and mediums are blurred — shot by David Sims, portrait images star Loewe ambassadors Josh O’Connor and Stéphane Bak while still-life compositions hero the Amazona 15, the Puzzle, and the Fold Shopper. The still-life shots are composed with deference to the work of William Nicholson, drawing inspiration from the way he used light and distortion to play with everyday objects, imbuing them with a sculptural quality.
Meanwhile, the captivatingly sullen portraits of Josh O’Connor and Stéphane Bak take on a louche, languid quality. Embracing the sense of surreal eroticism present in the work of George Platt Lynes, the portraits see O’Connor and Bak lounging on a bed, sitting on a chair, or pouting on a stool, eyes fixated on something out of frame — inviting observers to enter their thoughts and delve beyond the physical realm into the psychological.
Words by T. Angel
