LOEWE Paula’s Ibiza 2020 Launches Smiley Collection

LOEWE‘s latest collaboration with the legendary Ibiza boutique Paula´s celebrates the escapism of the Balearic Islands with a capsule collection dedicated to the icon of freedom, positivity and happiness – the Smiley. A sunny yellow circle with oval eyes and a hand-drawn, upturned mouth, it is such as immediate emblem, embraced by generations of subcultures. With the flourish of the Balearic Beat, the hedonism of the island expanded to influence the world, from Britain to India’s Goa trance scene. This happy capsule is all about the spirit of letting go, elevated and captured in a colourful way.

“The Smiley to me is an antidote to the bad news, which makes it particularly timely in the context we are living. It’s about trying to make the world a more positive place through creative subversion.” Said Jonathan Anderson, Creative Director of LOEWE

Ready-To-Wear
A selection of clothing and accessories emblazoned with the Smiley creates a capsule within Paula’s Ibiza rave-y summer collection. The joyous circle recurs throughout, outlined in mosaic on t-shirts tie-dyed in bright pastels or contrasted against black and white. It liquefies and melts, dripping down in threads, on an oversized jumper, and turns into a pattern on a shirt with matching swimming shorts. There are Smiley as insouciant buttons on a formal white shirt, while the idea of ‘secret’ Smileys is explored in marguerite lace, with the symbol woven into the sleeves of an asymmetric shirt and throughout a floaty sleeveless maxi-dress.

Accessories
On accessories, the Smiley is bigger and bolder. Basket bags woven from palm leaves and the Slit bag are emblazoned with the oversized yellow patch, and so are double Tote bags in which prints of mermaids, goldfish and waterlilies culled from Paula’s rich pattern archive are juxtaposed either side of a zip. On a small calf leather Gate Pocket bag and a Heel Pouch the Smiley is as big as the bag itself. Smiley leather charms and dice with alternate faces featuring the icon’s eyes as ovals, squares and love hearts allow for further personalization, a defining trait of both LOEWE and the Balearic subculture

To ensure a better future for children in socially vulnerable groups affected by COVID -19, LOEWE will be donating 40 euros to educational projects for every product sold in the Paula’s Ibiza fashion collection between May and August 2020 in LOEWE stores and on loewe.com, starting with an initial donation of 500,000 euros. So as to achieve this, LOEWE is collaborating with Plataforma de Infancia, a Spanish alliance of social organizations that works to protect children and adolescents’ rights, to launch a series of educational programs this summer in Spain aiming to reduce inequality and school dropouts.

The LOEWE x Smiley Collection is now available in stores and online