Fashion brand Loewe has released a pair of grassy sneakers covered in shaggy green raffia, an updated version of the grass-covered shoes revealed at its Spring Summer 2023 collection at Paris Fashion Week last year.
On Loewe's site, the grass trainer is described as a lace-up sneaker that is covered in an all-over, hand-embroidered "raffia rendering grass effect". The trainer has a canvas upper and a waved rubber sole that curves over the toe and up the back of the heel.
Embedded within the hand-embroidered raffia grass, a standard lace system extends from a white and logo-embellished padded heel and ankle support.
The first iteration of the trainers was presented at Loewe's Spring Summer 2023 show in June 2022, which saw the brand collaborate with Spanish bio-designer Paula Ulargui Escalona to design clothes and trainers sprouting real grasses and plants (main image).
At that show, Loewe's flow runner trainers appeared on the runway with catswort growing from their surface, which had been grown in a purpose-built polytunnel greenhouse for 20 days in the lead-up to the show.
Loewe's damp and grassy trainers were translated for the commercial market through a hand-embroidered raffia-covered upper that mimicked the grassy effect from the Spring Summer 2023 menswear show.
Loewe is headed by Northern Irish fashion designer Jonathan Anderson, who is also the founder and creative director of his namesake fashion brand JW Anderson.
Anderson was appointed creative director of Loewe in 2013. At Loewe, Anderson often opts for conceptual, sculptural and surrealist collections that lean into craft, art and design.
His most recent collection for the Spanish fashion house saw him collaborate with French metal artist Elie Hirsch to create a number of metal jackets for its Autumn Winter 2023 menswear collection.
Photography is courtesy of Loewe.