THE JOURNAL
If there’s one thing LOEWE knows, it’s how to turn a bag into the ultimate object of desire. Founded in 1846, the Spanish fashion house started out life as a leathermaker, and its accessories are still its crowning jewels today. Under the stewardship of Mr Jonathan Anderson, the brand has struck upon winners time and again: the geometric, now-iconic Puzzle, which continues to shapeshift each season; the newer Pebble, with its bucket-style silhouette and chunky handle. Underpinning it all is exquisite craftsmanship – that keyword in the LOEWE lexicon – with each piece handmade by trusted artisans.
Given the label’s undeniable appeal, it’s no wonder that when we hit up some of the most stylish guys we know to take the autumn/winter 2024 pre-collection for a test drive, they couldn’t resist the offer. Below, Messrs Raven Smith, Jonathan Daniel Pryce and Andu Masebo showcase the best bits and talk personal style, creativity and honing their own craft.
Mr Raven Smith
He’s earnt a reputation as one of the most popular men in London – the guy every PR wants at their party – so you may be surprised to learn that Mr Raven Smith enjoys being alone. “I’m an only child, so I am absolutely terrible at being around people constantly,” he says.
He is first and foremost a writer, after all, which means he has to carve out precious quiet time to actually craft some sentences. He’s even set himself up with a dedicated “writer’s studio” in Soho, which he treks to a few days a week from Camberwell. “If I’m in my house, I can spend three hours on a sandwich.”
It’s from here that Smith files his weekly column for vogue.com, which features his musings on pop culture moments, from Mr Paul Mescal’s short-shorts to Brat summer.
He’s also been fleshing out the proposal for his third book, which he hints is going to be fiction. “I’ve just tried to drown out all the noise of what other people thought was strategically clever and write what I actually want to write.”
“For me, a wardrobe is not a series of garments – it’s an ongoing conversation”
Smith may be a columnist-slash-author by trade, but it seems that everyone wants a slice of whatever he has to offer. Ms Lena Dunham recently invited him into the writers’ room for her new romcom, and he’s also made a cameo in the upcoming third season of Industry.
He’s an in-demand podcast host, too, although these days it’s live broadcasts, such as co-presenting last year’s British Fashion Awards, that he finds most thrilling. “I loved the adrenaline of it – I’d do that again in a heartbeat.”
To view some of Smith’s finest work, you’ll want head over to his Instagram. And we’re not just talking about his knack for memes, but his ridiculously good outfits.
“For me, a wardrobe is not a series of garments – it’s an ongoing conversation,” he says, semi-jokingly, of his serial shopping habit. “I don’t want to have a uniform and just throw clothes on that I know look nice. I want to always be striving to push in some direction.”
Lately, it’s been all about seeking out rarer pieces, commissioning a few custom creations – and lots of LOEWE. “There’s something about Jonathan’s wit that carries through into garments that aren’t silly,” Smith says. “I never want to look silly – I want attention for just absolutely smashing it.”
There’s also the house’s ability to weave a narrative that appeals to the writer in him. “I think when I’m buying stuff, it’s about, ‘Am I invested in the story or not?’ and I’m just very invested in what Jonathan does.”
Despite being the proud custodian of an overspilling, envy-inducing wardrobe, he takes a refreshingly un-precious approach to clothes – even those luxe LOEWE accessories. “It can’t be this pristine thing,” he says. “I want you to see that it’s lived alongside me, and we’ve been through some shit together!”
Mr Jonathan Daniel Pryce
If Mr Jonathan Daniel Pryce’s name doesn’t ring a bell, then his Instagram handle @garconjon certainly will. The Scottish-born, London-based photographer belongs to that early crop of street-style documentarians who swooped in around the mid to late 2000s – that is, before street style became an industry in itself and everyone started peacocking for the cameras.
Pryce credits Ms Amy Arbus’ work for the Village Voice with sparking his interest in street photography. “I love how you’re capturing a city in a certain time, the people themselves, an element of clothing,” he says.
As a student, he started attending fashion weeks and would share his photographs on his blog, which eventually attracted the attention of Vogue Hommes. Nowadays, he travels non-stop for work, dipping in and out of the fashion-week schedule to shoot portraits and brand campaigns.
Unsurprisingly, he has a few thoughts on what makes someone truly stylish. “You can tell if someone feels comfortable in what they’re wearing. And I often really appreciate older people’s style because it’s truly who they are – they’re not trying to impress anyone. I like the idea of collecting.”
More importantly, Pryce is supremely qualified to settle the debate on which city is home to the world’s best dressers. “London is exciting because it’s so diverse,” he says. “But Parisians seem to grow up knowing about fashion.”
“You can tell if someone feels comfortable in what they’re wearing”
What Pryce himself gravitates towards can be described as tasteful and unembellished, with LOEWE’s more classic cuts and hues a natural fit. “I just know what works for my body: a wide-leg pant, a higher waist. And I do like neutrals – black, navy, brown, tan, white.” Most importantly, “there definitely has to be a practical element. I need to be comfortable.”
He’s always on the move, and often has his camera in tow, whether that’s a classic Canon D-SLR or a Contax G2 with a few rolls of Kodak Portra 35mm film, which is “compact enough to keep tucked away”. He’s also happy to just snap away on an iPhone, although he opts for a cover with a stand attached – “perfect for taking photos on a timer”.
These days, Pryce’s roving eye extends beyond beautiful people in beautiful clothes. Images he’s captured on his iPhone recently include “a cigarette packet on the floor, a pigeon walking past”. And while he doesn’t shy away from the fashion photographer label, it is other human beings that are really his topic of interest. “I love meeting people, and the camera is a great facilitator for making those interactions happen.”
He now has an ongoing series exploring male body image, or another that sees him learning about his late grandfather through his possessions. It’s a broad portfolio, but there’s a distinct @garconjon stamp to it throughout.“There’s a bit of nostalgia, a bit of romance,” he says. “I like to think you can see a sort of sensitivity in my work.”
Mr Andu Masebo
“I make stuff – that’s kind of my thing,” Mr Andu Masebo says rather modestly of his vocation. Though if you had to get specific, the product designer prefers to make the sort of “stuff” that people actually live with.
Chairs form a big part of his design practice – a notable project involved repurposing the parts of a car exhaust. However, he’s probably best known for his curved, brightly coloured candlestick holders, which seem to pop up on every cool London creative’s Instagram feed.
Masebo trained in ceramics, and then spent about a decade as a carpenter, mostly building sets and gallery walls. However, the “democratic” aspect of furniture as well as its real-word implication appealed to him.
“I use [furniture] as a vehicle to discuss other things,” he says. “You can make art about a political movement and it’s in a gallery. I’m interested in the process of making things, who makes them, how we live with things, how we care for them, how we pass them on, and furniture is directly involved in that space.”
“If something makes you feel great when you put it on, then you’re always going to have that”
Masebo describes his design style as intentionally simple. “It’s not ornate,” he says “It’s understandable quite immediately. I don’t make things that confuse people – I want them to go straight to the [idea].”
And, for him, it’s less about honing a consistent visual aesthetic as it is communicating an underlying sentiment. “I’ve tried to do things that feel the same, but they don’t necessarily always look the same.”
He credits much of his creative ethos to his “singular hero in design”, the Italian modernist designer Mr Enzo Mari. “He was somebody that was really uniquely politically engaged, and he was quite active in bringing socially minded politics into his work.”
Most days, you’ll find Masebo hands-on in his workshop in Hoxton, which he travels to from Camberwell via Vespa. “I don’t ever leave the house without a bag, and it’s partly because I have to carry my laptop, my sketchpad and things that [allow me] to do work on the go,” he says. “But it’s also because what I do is quite physical. I always need to bring a spare T-shirt or a pair of trousers.”
Durability and practicality are crucial – and even when he smartens up in tailoring or loafers for dinner, nothing is overdone. “For the most part, I’m a bit scruffy,” he says. “I hate the idea of having an ‘outfit’ on. I quite like when things happen naturally, something sort of thrown together.”
It’s inevitable that Masebo’s highly considered approach to craftsmanship and design seeps into what he chooses to purchase. “You could buy something from LOEWE, and [you know] you’re going to keep it because it’s well made.”
He’s not hugely interesting in moving with the trends – or anything that’s novel for the sake of it, either. “It’s important to make sure you’re buying [something] because it fits within you,” he says. “If something’s made with really great materials and makes you feel great when you put it on, then you’re always going to have that.”