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Ona Selfa's Breakthrough Debut
By: Godfrey Deeny
Photo by Gruber-FWD
Mar 14, 2002/ FWD/ --- What a difference a designer makes.
On Friday, Jose Enrique Ona Selfa made his debut as designer of Loewe, that venerable and
substantive Spanish fashion house, and his ideas really worked.
Water dripped on the soundtrack and from the roof of the giant cave of the Petit Palais,
as Karl Lagerfeld and Bernard and Helene Arnault even posed for photographers near a big
puddle while ushers fussed around.
Arnault took an unprecedented step of writing in the program notes that "Jose Enrique’s
vision is pure Loewe."
Given that Loewe is one of a dozen fashion houses in Arnault’s vast LVMH luxury group,
one took this declaration with a pinch of salt, but it turned out to be right.
Ona Selfa is clearly a very good fit for leather goods specialist Loewe, the way his talented
predecessor Narciso Rodriguez, who made his fame with a Kennedy wedding gown, was not.
Ona Selfa, Belgian-born and –trained, though of Spanish parents, used leather in practically
every look.
Stella McCartney would have been apoplectic.
And, pretty much all of them looked convincing.
The first dozen outfits, either in caramel or old rose, had a lean but realistic silhouette.
They looked like great merchandise, with Ona Selfa’s own distinctive use of open-ended darts,
slits and cut.
Yet it wasn’t too corporate or conservative - model Claire Elliot wore flared leather pants
with a cashmere V-neck pulled down to her waist, her top half exposed.
The sleek finish of the leathers – like Havana or Novak - and the cool shades of the furs –
astrakhan or chestnut fox – sent out a clear message: Let’s hear it for high-maintenance
luxury.
Angular-cut crocodile belts, vampish gloves, and great boots with swirls of leather on the
sides were among the fine accessories.
And on a busy day crammed with shows, Loewe’s was a much-appreciated well-edited 59 outfits.
There were few slips -- as spikes on the high heels gave a lot of bother on the Petit
Palais' brickwork -- and the rather muted finale wasn't quite up to snuff.
But on the basis of this outing, one had to say, contract extension is in order for Ona Selfa.
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