LOEWE is one of the world’s major luxury houses, founded in 1846 in Spain, and known for its quality and craftsmanship in pieces including but not limited to leather goods, clothing, perfumes and fashion accessories. This work epitomises luxury: a capsule collection that forms part of a long and extraordinary partnership between Loewe and Oscar-winning Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.

This work brought together two cultural contexts that on the face of it may seem miles apart. And geographically, they are. But the Spanish luxury house LOEWE is known for their obsessive focus on craft and master artisans who combine their immense technical and material knowledge with innovation. Meanwhile, Studio Ghibli is famous worldwide for its meticulous artistry, drawing and painting each frame by hand.

Each half of the partnership is placed in a different geography, and therefore the work was not based on regional contexts and nuance but rather their shared attitude towards and culture of creativity, as well as a fervent dedication to craftsmanship.

LOEWE’s partnership with Studio Ghibli began in 2020, and has since produced three momentous collections, celebrating the Oscar-winning movie Spirited Away, and anime classic My Neighbour Totoro. The objective was to create the final chapter in the series to build the ultimate crescendo with another show-stopping collection made up of even more brilliant handcrafted pieces, magical campaigns and worldwide experiences.

The idea is the third capsule collection in the long-term partnership between LOEWE x Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 2004 fantasy epic Howl’s Moving Castle, written and directed by Hay Miyazaki and brought to life with bold and intricately crafted ready-to-wear accessories and shoes, launched around the world. The capsule collection captured the power of transformation and inclusivity to engage with customers and fans and immerse people in the fantastical world created by Studio Ghibli and LOEWE.

Part of our target audience was made up of existing fans of Studio Ghibli. Based in Japan, the animation house has strong fanbases across East- and Southeast- Asia as well as all around the world. However, the campaign was also targeted at the global fashion market more broadly.

The main manifestation of the idea was the capsule collection, made up of bags, leather goods, jumpers, jackets, shirts and other pieces brought to life - or more fittingly ‘animated’ - by the film’s key characters. Details such as appliqué, raffia, feathers and other 3D materials and techniques meant that they stood out as if they were alive.

To launch the collection, photographer Juergen Teller shot the stills campaign, while billboards, painted murals, 3D and digital screens took over the world’s most prominent locations including Sunset Boulevard (Los Angeles), Shenzhen and Taiwan (China), Piccadilly (London) and more.

There were 71 stores and pop-ups worldwide, including a takeover in Selfridges which included a custom built kitchen and Howl’s Moving Castle-themed cafe serving themed food in a custom-made themed dining room.

And that’s not all. A large-scale inflatable Howl’s Moving Castle even travelled from London to Paris.

The launch drove our highest search volume worldwide ever recorded. The campaign was covered by the most important fashion and lifestyle publications including Vogue, Dazed, Hypebeast and more. The launch in London’s Selfridges alone drove 8.3M media reach, 2.2M social media impressions and 1.6M video views. This pop-up included a themed café experience which sold out, serving almost 10,000 items. It was the most successful Selfridges Corner Shop engagement ever. Meanwhile, the Seoul pop-up went viral and drove a daily traffic increase of +99%. Overall, the campaign saw an 160% increase in clients worldwide.

The campaign overall amassed 216M impressions, a +59% increase on the previous capsule collection in the partnership.

Beyond this, the collection reinforced LOEWE’s reputation as the pioneer of craftsmanship.