Loewe Event: A Diary From Hamburg

Monday 27.11.17

Weather: 7 celsius, rainy

First stop, Tornqvist coffee brewery, Hamburg’s favourite new cafe in the middle of Schanze. Preparing for a long day, Lisa asks for a double espresso with hot water. The barista is telling her that the water ‘will ruin everything’. Coffee in Hamburg is a serious science. Fuelled by gourmet caffeine, we go to LUV, the three floor interior store that we are renovating for our Loewe event, together with German set designer Anka Rehbock. Bodo wants to infuse the space with a blend of contemporary furniture, art and vintage objects, to complement the OLED campaign theme. Just around the corner a huge prop house provides a treasure trove of objects and it takes us almost two hours to sift through its riches and select the items we need to embellish the installation.

Tuesday 28.11.17

Weather: 5 celsius, cloudy

Day two begins with collecting our prop house haul and checking out the city’s creative hubs - vintage shops and markets. Next we pick branches for Lisa’s aerial flower creation; she plans to hang the foliage from a steel frame in a doorway, linking the rooms. In a neighbouring street to LUV, Elbgold is our daily pitstop for lunch and flat whites. It’s not a long lunch though, as we work through each room at LUV, planning interiors that will align with Loewe’s brand aesthetic and the screen footage: material by Jake Curtis and Hana Al-sayed, performance art by Caroline Devauld and Kvadrat “Emanicipath” for Zeitguised.

Walls are painted in rich tones by Little Greene, an independent British paint manufacturer, which we highly admire for their commitment to the environmentally responsible production of high quality paints and wallpapers. 
Things are finally starting to get together.

Wednesday 29.11.17

Weather: 6 celsius, rainy

We feel quite at home in the “Hamburg weather” and warm up with a hot drink like we would in London. Today’s morning coffee is from Less Political - an absolute must when exploring the area of Schanze. Today we have a lot on our agenda before the press breakfast and evening event tomorrow, which will gather Loewe followers, Hamburg’s design enthusiasts and press.

After an efficient day of work, we sample more German cuisine at Berta Emil Richard Schneider before a cocktail at Daniela’s.

Thursday 30.11.17

Event day!

Weather: 4 celsius, cloudy

Today is the day. Lisa is focused on the finishing touches before the press breakfast. Doors open and prominent journalists arrive, eager to see Bodo Sperlein’s recent works for Loewe. To introduce the event, Bodo and Dr. Roland Raithel - Public Relations Director at Loewe - discussing the future of television and OLED technology.

Before the evening begins, we find some spare time to see the spectacular Opera house Elphilharmonie by Herzog & De Meuron, in the central area of Hamburg. Then a quick burger at Otto's and we’re ready for the night.

At 7pm the guests arrive to see the transformation of LUV Interiors. Our latest works, the bild 5 and bild 9 are the highlights, enhanced by Lisa’s set design. It is an immersive installation, combining painterly tableaus of alchemy antiques and curiosity objects in a warm, seasonal palette that emphasises the metallic shine of our collections. The event allows the crowd to interact in a decadent, dark and mysterious floral arrangement suspended above table settings. Fabrics by Kvadrat are key within the ground floor environment - opulence of dark transparent coloured fabrics are draped luxuriously, with a mix of weights and textures - some lightweight, slightly obscuring for the viewer.