In the ‘Crafted World’: LOEWE Returns with New Tokyo Exhibition

Now open in Tokyo’s Harajuku district, LOEWE presents the exhibition as an ode to the house’s Spanish heritage—and its evolution beyond.

Words Randolf Maala-Resueño
Photos courtesy of LOEWE
April 15, 2025

Upholding LOEWE’s core values with cultural expansion at its heart, Crafted World reimagines the interplay between culture and historical legacy through the lens of contemporary fashion, craftsmanship, and art. As the luxury house’s first major exhibition, Crafted World serves as a tribute to artistic excellence, amplifying LOEWE’s enduring dedication to world-class craftsmanship and its evolving narrative within the global creative landscape.

Crafted World Tokyo features a specially curated series of works and architectural interventions highlighting LOEWE’s collaborations and cultural projects across Japan and beyond. In collaboration with architectural luminary OMA, this leg of the exhibition offers visitors a chance to journey through the iconic designs and cultural collaborations, showcasing LOEWE’s evolution from its origins as a leather-making collective in Madrid in 1846 to becoming one of the world’s leading luxury fashion houses. 

Diving deep to the exhibition, Crafted World is dedicated to the joy of handmade crafts, transporting the audience to the sights and sounds of Spain, the front row of the Paris runway, and, in a series of spectacularly interactive rooms, inside the visionary imaginations that have inspired LOEWE’s recent collections, including those of Studio Ghibli and the Kyoto-based ceramicists Suna Fujita.

Chapters of Legacy

The exhibition is curated around thematic rooms showcasing the house’s progressive approach to fashion and the culture of craft:

Born from the Hand. A look back at LOEWE’s evolution from a leather-making collective in 1846 to the house’s modern identity through presenting key products alongside architectural models, archive photographs, and advertising works from Pablo Picasso and Pedro Almodóvar, recent collaborations with Anthea Hamilton, and costumes for Rihanna, Beyoncé, and the 2024 MET Gala.

Welcome to Spain. A series of tableaux framing the unique landscapes of LOEWE’s home country, and the craft traditions and designs they have inspired. Accompanied by the ceramics of Pablo Picasso, the chapter opens a window into a terracotta-tiled casa typical of  Galicia; the beaches of southern Spain, where seashells have inspired raffia bags; the Mediterranean Sea and the marine creatures of LOEWE’s free-spirited Paula’s Ibiza line.

The Atelier. Behind the Scenes of the Atelier guides audiences through the intricate process of crafting LOEWE’s iconic bags—from a curated leather library to hand-cutting tools and hours of prototyping and testing. The journey ends with a look into innovative techniques like caviar embroidery, leather marquetry, origami modelling, and 3D printing.

The Castle Room. At the center stands a two-metre-tall edition of the Howl’s Moving Castle bag, originally designed for LOEWE’s 2023 capsule collection inspired by the Studio Ghibli classic. Showcasing the atelier’s ability to transform cinematic fantasy into craftsmanship, the oversized bag is crafted from elements of LOEWE’s signature pieces, creating a whimsical tribute to one of film’s most surreal structures. The room is sure to cast a spell on all who enter.

Fashion Without Limits. This chapter immerses the audience in the elaborate craftsmanship, sculptural forms, playful trompe l’oeil effects, and unexpected materials of Jonathan Anderson’s catwalk collections for LOEWE since his appointment as creative director in 2013.

United in Craft. The room dedicates its joy of making things with one’s hands and the house’s support for crafts around the world, such as the LOEWE FOUNDATIONS’ bespoke funding programme for the Onishi family to safeguard their 400-year-old heritage of crafting iron tea kettles in Kyoto and cultivate future generations of Kama craftspeople.

Unexpected Dialogues. A series of five spectacular rooms immersing the audience in the visionary worlds that have inspired LOEWE’s collaborations from the past decade. 

LOEWE’s Crafted World Tokyo opens daily from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM until May 11, 2025, at 6-35-6 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo. Immerse yourself in the modern, two-storey, glass-fronted exhibition space opposite Harajuku Station and Yoyogi Park, a short walk from the newly renovated CASA LOEWE Ōmetosando.