LOEWE: Scents of Nature and Memory Woven by a Kingdom of Leather

This is a very personal project for me. I spent a great deal of time creating it because I truly believe in this fragrance. Above all, I wanted it to feel like a credible, natural extension of what Loewe embodies today.
── Jonathan Anderson (LOEWE Creative Director, 2013–2025)​

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Basic Information

• Brand name: LOEWE​
• Founded: 1846 (Madrid)
• Founders: A group of Spanish artisans (1846), joined by Enrique Loewe Roessberg in 1872
• Fragrance division established: 1972​
• Group: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (since 1996)​
• Official websites: LOEWE Perfumes / LOEWE

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The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

A Story That Began in a Madrid Leather Workshop

1846: Madrid was celebrating the wedding of Spain’s Queen Isabella II. In the lively commercial district of calle Lobo, later calle Echegaray, a leather workshop opened its doors. Its Spanish artisans made small leather goods such as wallets, cigarette cases, and jewelry cases. This modest workshop was the origin of Loewe, which would eventually become one of Spain’s leading luxury houses.

The Arrival of German Craftsman Enrique Loewe Roessberg

In 1872, Enrique Loewe Roessberg, a leather craftsman from Kassel, Germany, arrived in Madrid after traveling through the capitals of Europe. Impressed by the Spanish artisans’ exceptional skills and the high quality of their materials, he decided to join their workshop.

“Enrique Loewe’s precision and technical methodology combined with the Spanish artisans’ creativity and incomparable leather craftsmanship, and LOEWE was born.”
── LOEWE official website​

Enrique named the brand LOEWE after his own surname. German precision and Spanish sensuality: the intersection of these two cultures is the DNA running through Loewe. By 1892, it was displaying large signs on Madrid’s street corners, making the brand’s presence widely known.

Royal Patronage and International Renown

In 1905, Spain’s King Alfonso XIII granted Loewe the title of “Purveyor to the Royal Court.” Queen Victoria Eugenia was a regular customer at its shop on calle Príncipe in Madrid. With this royal endorsement, Loewe became known among Europe’s upper classes. Its clientele of famous figures, including Ernest Hemingway, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich, and Sophia Loren, further enhanced the brand’s prestige.​

In 1934, third-generation Enrique Loewe Knappe took over management. After the Spanish Civil War, he built a new era of expansion for the brand. Particularly noteworthy was his acquisition of exclusive Spanish distribution rights for Dior’s “New Look” in 1947, which strengthened Loewe’s position in fashion. In 1963, it opened its first overseas shop in London, and in 1973 expanded into Asian markets, including Tokyo.

The Logo, Perfume, and LVMH

In 1970, Spanish painter Vicente Vela designed the iconic Anagram logo combining four Ls. This monogram was inspired by the original branding irons used to stamp leather.

Then, in 1972, Loewe stepped into the world of fragrance, launching its first women’s perfume, L de Loewe. This marked the beginning of LOEWE Perfumes.

Fourth-generation Enrique Loewe Lynch (1941–2020) joined the family business in the late 1960s and led the brand’s international expansion. In 1988, he established the LOEWE FOUNDATION and began supporting creativity in poetry, dance, photography, art, and craft. The Foundation’s work continues today, with his daughter Sheila Loewe serving as chair.​

LVMH acquired Loewe’s international distribution rights in 1986 and took full ownership of the brand in 1996. Its sales were reportedly around $200 million at the time. Successive creative directors, Narciso Rodriguez (1996–2001), José Enrique Oña Selfa (2001–2007), and Stuart Vevers (2007–2013), each brought their own character to the house.

The Jonathan Anderson Era: Transformation into a “Cultural Brand”

In 2013, Jonathan Anderson, from Magherafelt in Northern Ireland, became Loewe’s creative director. Still in his twenties, the London College of Fashion graduate had already attracted attention through his own label, JW Anderson, founded in 2008. In 2015, he achieved an unprecedented double at the British Fashion Awards, winning Designer of the Year in both menswear and womenswear simultaneously.

Anderson set himself the goal of transforming Loewe into a “cultural brand.”​

“I like the idea that opposites attract, things that I’m curious about – it’s all about curiosity.”
(I like the idea of opposites attracting. Curiosity is everything.)
── Jonathan Anderson​

Over the eleven years following his appointment, Loewe’s clothing sales reportedly rose by 380%. His initiatives, including iconic bags such as the Puzzle, the establishment of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize, and collaborations with Studio Ghibli, continually shook up the fashion industry. In fragrance, too, Anderson would bring about a decisive renewal.

In March 2025, Anderson left Loewe after an eleven-year tenure.​

“While my chapter draws to a close, Loewe’s story will continue for many years to come, and I will look on with pride, watching it continue to grow, the amazing Spanish brand I once called home.”
(My chapter is closing, but Loewe’s story will continue for many years to come. I will proudly watch this wonderful Spanish brand I once called home continue to grow.)
── Jonathan Anderson, departure statement​

He was succeeded by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, founders of the New York luxury brand Proenza Schouler, who began their new creative direction on April 7, 2025.​

Two “Noses”: Emilio Valeros and Nuria Cruelles

Essential to any account of Loewe’s fragrance history are its two in-house perfumers, known as “noses.”

Emilio Valeros is a legendary perfumer who served as Loewe’s “nose” for around 30 years, beginning around 1989. Born in Madrid, he encountered the world of scent from childhood through his father’s work in a fragrance laboratory. After studying chemistry and training in Grasse, France, he gained experience at international fragrance companies including GAL, IFF, and Firmenich. At Loewe, he created at least 89 fragrances, including many celebrated works such as Solo Loewe and Aura Loewe. He also worked to promote lavender cultivation in Spain’s Alcarria region and helped establish its Lavender Festival.

“El perfume es la forma más tenaz del recuerdo.”
(Perfume is the most tenacious form of memory.)
── Emilio Valeros​

When Valeros retired in 2019, he was succeeded by Nuria Cruelles. Born in Spain, she decided to study chemistry at seventeen and was recruited by Anderson while working in a laboratory at IFF, International Flavors & Fragrances. She joined Loewe in 2018.

Cruelles’ most distinctive characteristic is her synesthesia, a rare sensory ability to perceive scents visually as colors and shapes. She also trained as an oenologist, a specialist in winemaking, and is known for a unique sensibility that crosses the worlds of wine and perfume. According to LVMH’s official website, few houses in the world have a female in-house perfumer.

“When Loewe offered me this role, it felt like the kind of opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime.”
(When Loewe offered me this role, I felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.)
── Nuria Cruelles​

She has also spoken of knowing Loewe perfumes since childhood through Aire, which her mother wore. This episode, in which personal memory intersects with the brand’s history, seems to symbolize LOEWE Perfumes’ theme of “nature and memory.”​

The Brand’s Commitments

Making “Nature” the Starting Point for Everything

If LOEWE Perfumes’ philosophy can be expressed in a single phrase, it is “inspiration from nature.” Its official Instagram bio reads, “Crafting a multisensory kaleidoscope of colour, scent and emotion, inspired by nature” (creating a multisensory kaleidoscope of color, fragrance, and emotion inspired by nature).​

Cruelles explains it this way.

“Nature is always our main source of inspiration. Based on that, the essence of LOEWE Perfumes is deeply embedded in the brand’s fundamental values—dedication to excellence, appreciation for craftsmanship, extensive research, boundless creativity, and savoir-faire.”
(Nature is always our main source of inspiration. On that foundation, the essence of LOEWE Perfumes is deeply rooted in the brand’s fundamental values: dedication to excellence, respect for craftsmanship, extensive research, limitless creativity, and savoir-faire.)
── Nuria Cruelles​

This philosophy is clearly reflected in its bold embrace of materials often overlooked in conventional perfumery: tomato leaves, coriander, beetroot, and mushrooms.​

Integrating Fashion and Fragrance

LOEWE Perfumes was long run as a separate company independent of the fashion division. Before Anderson’s appointment, it even had its own separate website. Launched in 2016, 001 was the first project to unite fashion and fragrance.​

“Loewe has done perfumes since 1947, but this is the first time perfume and fashion have been combined.”
(Loewe has been making perfumes since 1947, but this is the first time fragrance and fashion have become one.)
── Jonathan Anderson​

The Aesthetics of Bottle and Packaging Design

Loewe perfumes embody a strong commitment to their containers and packaging as well.

• The 001 series: A simple, restrained glass bottle topped with an ash-wood cap. The packaging was designed by M/M Paris, Anderson’s regular collaborators, using paper from James Cropper. It opens like a book and is decorated with botanical photographs by German photographer Karl Blossfeldt. Known for photographs that captured plant forms sculpturally in the early twentieth century, Blossfeldt has been central to the visual identity of LOEWE Perfumes as a whole since 2019.
• Botanical Rainbow: A simple, colorful design of rectangular glass flasks with wooden caps.​
• Un Paseo Por Madrid: Pale gray frosted glass fitted with a marble cap reminiscent of the Nero Aureus marble used in traditional Spanish architecture.​
• Home Scents: Candle vessels in hand-glazed terracotta inspired by Greek cups from the fifth century BCE. Their candlestick designs reference French flambeaux from the reign of Louis XIV.​
• The Crafted Collection (2025): Sculptural flasks with bubbles trapped in hand-blown glass, topped with granite caps.

The “LOEWE Accord”: Spanish DNA

From 2024 onward, new LOEWE Perfumes creations began incorporating a shared signature note called the “LOEWE Accord.” This scent is based on labdanum, the resin extracted from rockrose, scientifically known as Cistus ladanifer, which grows wild in Spain’s rocky landscapes.

“I find the rockrose to be fascinating. It’s an ideal ingredient to experiment with due to its subtle and comfortable nature. Its essence effortlessly blends with various notes and is deeply rooted in the unique essence of Spain.”
(I am fascinated by rockrose. Its subtle, comforting nature makes it an ideal material for experimentation. Its scent naturally harmonizes with different notes and is deeply rooted in Spain’s unique essence.)
── Nuria Cruelles​

Labdanum is a resinous fragrance material with a leathery warmth, prized since ancient times and a central material in amber accords. The LOEWE Accord is said to be destined for inclusion in all future new releases as “the brand’s DNA.”

The Fragrance Lineup

LOEWE Perfumes draws on the colors and landscapes of nature, the culture and places of Madrid, and the summers of Ibiza. Alongside fragrances to wear, Home Scents explores botanical subjects for the home.

Botanical Rainbow

Botanical Rainbow brings LOEWE’s fragrance families together through rectangular bottles in different colors, topped with wooden caps. The collection includes 001, Aire, Solo, and Agua, each with its own history and inspiration.

001: The starting point of the Anderson era, introduced as the paired fragrances Woman and Man, inspired by the morning after a first romantic encounter. The original pair share bergamot, tangerine, and sandalwood; Woman adds jasmine and vanilla, while Man features cedar and musk.

Aire: Created in 1985 by Olivier Cresp. He identifies it as the first of his fragrances to bring him widespread recognition, recalling how its fresh, sparkling character and success strengthened his confidence as a perfumer.

Solo: Launched in 2004, this family takes inspiration from the harmonious moment of sunset. Solo Vulcan joined it in 2024, incorporating the LOEWE Accord.

Agua: Launched in 2000 around the sparkle of flowing water. Agua Drop (2024) is a fresh, floral eau de parfum within the same family.

Esencia: A woody, aromatic masculine family that began in 1987. The original was a complex fougère inspired by the colors of Andalusian olive trees and became established in Spanish perfume culture. The family’s current theme is DNA, shared by living things yet defining each individual. The eau de parfum combines more than 200 elements, including red pepper, basil, and tarragon, in a deep-green bottle.

Aura: The first fragrance appeared in 1994. Today, the family explores the presence of a muse who seems to illuminate her surroundings. Aura White Magnolia, for example, evokes a personality defined by brightness, generosity, and an open, outgoing appeal.

7: Launched in 2010. Before the current theme of the infinite mysteries of the universe, its creation began with a challenge: to carry the mystique of the number seven into the fragrance’s composition. Emilio Valeros recalls receiving this brief from management, considering around 60 olfactory concepts, including flowers, spices, woods, and citrus, and narrowing them to seven elements. He sought to reconcile that constraint with an approachable masculine fragrance.

Earth: Launched in 2022, inspired by nature’s connections between above and below ground, the visible and the invisible. Truffle, associated with underground symbiosis, meets pear, elemi, mimosa, and violet in a floral, ambery, musky composition.

Pour Homme: A fragrance inspired by the pleasure of feeling the earth beneath one’s feet. It combines notes of geranium, vetiver, and sandalwood. As part of Botanical Rainbow, it comes in a bottle whose color recalls the Mediterranean.

Anderson developed 001 with Emilio Valeros, then LOEWE’s in-house perfumer. Anderson explained that he wanted a fragrance on the boundary between masculinity and femininity, allowing lovers to wear each other’s perfumes. The shared materials give Man and Woman a common foundation, turning the morning after an intimate encounter into an exchange of scents that goes beyond a simple division between genders.

For the original Solo, Valeros explored a composition balancing opposing scents. He visited Toledo, where Christian, Jewish, and Islamic cultures overlap, taking cues from steel, the damp air of churches, marzipan, and orange trees in cloisters. He described building three different groups of smells and bringing them together at a point of harmony.

For Solo Ella Eau de Parfum, Valeros wanted to retain the original Solo’s recognisable character in a fragrance for women. Its structure balances fruit against dry wood, and flowers against wet stone. Bitter orange, apple and peach meet jasmine sambac and orange blossom, while green tea and white woods form the wet-stone accord.

While Solo’s wider theme is the balance of dusk, Solo Vulcan depicts a volcanic eruption. Thyme, lavender, orange flower, and vetiver meet the LOEWE Accord, combining resinous, woody warmth with herbal freshness. Cruelles said she wanted to express the force and passion of an eruption, also identifying clary sage and tonka bean as materials that contribute warmth.

Agua Drop, by contrast, takes its inspiration from dew on rockrose petals after a cold night. With the same LOEWE Accord, it combines bergamot and orange flower absolute, moving toward fresh fruit and flowers. Solo Vulcan and Agua Drop were the first fragrances in their respective families to incorporate the accord.

The early story of 7 depicted a bullfighter’s solitary, tense moments before entering the ring. In 2012, 7 Natural moved away from that tension to an outdoor setting for breathing, resting, and renewal. It retained the seven-element structure, with yuzu and bitter orange giving it a more open character. The later 7 Plata combines the family’s incense with mint and ginger, contrasting a cold, metallic impression with the warmth of dry amber and musk.

Un Paseo Por Madrid

Un Paseo Por Madrid is a unisex collection inspired by the life, culture, and spaces of LOEWE’s home city. Each fragrance translates time spent in places such as theaters and cinemas into scent.

Ópera draws on performances at the Teatro Real, combining jasmine petals, sandalwood, and vanilla in a powdery, woody composition. Doré takes its subject from archival screenings at the modernist Cine Doré. Notes of patchouli and vanilla contribute to its floral, woody, aromatic character.

Frosted glass and marble-effect caps distinguish the collection. The names of places in Madrid appear on vessels quite different from Botanical Rainbow’s colored bottles.

Paula’s Ibiza

This series captures the freedom of summer in the Balearic Islands. Coconut sweetness evokes the passage from long summer days into island nights. Cosmic (2024) is an eau de parfum combining mango, pear, coconut, and sandalwood with the LOEWE Accord.

Eclectic approaches the same island through orange flower and jasmine sambac, layered with mandarin and black pepper. Incense surrounds coconut and vanilla, followed by ylang-ylang, musk, and Australian sandalwood. Rather than Cosmic’s pear and mango, its flowers, spices, and incense express the excitement of returning to the island and staying out all night.

Home Scents

Launched in 2020, this home-fragrance collection was inspired by the vegetable garden at Anderson’s London home.

Anderson described the fragrances as olfactory sketches recalling his childhood and travels, combining the character of a Victorian botanical garden and an apothecary with both scientific and sentimental associations.

Candles, rattan diffusers, soaps, and room sprays have explored tomato leaves, coriander, oregano, juniper berry, cannabis, and honeysuckle. The subjects extend beyond flowers to leaves, stems, and the green smells of a vegetable garden.

Cruelles has described how closing her eyes and smelling the Tomato Leaves candle brings back memories of her grandmother’s kitchen. Black Sesame, Earl Grey, and Sweet Almond candles extend the collection’s subjects from garden plants to familiar foods and drinks.

The Crafted Collection

In autumn 2025, the Crafted Collection became the first fragrance collection unveiled under McCollough and Hernandez’s new leadership. Developed by Cruelles over more than two years, the first three eaux de parfum took classic perfumery materials as their starting points: iris, oud, and vanilla.

Cruelles described the collection’s approach as respecting the integrity of its materials while reinterpreting them in a contemporary way.

Bittersweet Oud sets the resinous, woody depth of oud against the vivid citrus character of bitter orange, adding creamy warmth through sandalwood. Cruelles has linked the fragrance to her fascination with oud while studying perfumery in Dubai.

Iris Root focuses on the creamy texture of iris rhizomes. The gentle herbal character of angelica seed meets the grapefruit-like brightness of Timut pepper. Cruelles intended the pepper to bring out the rhizome’s softness and brighten the top of the fragrance. Cruelles has also recalled how timut pepper initially disrupted her formulas despite its appealing smell. Finding the right dosage and the right accompanying ingredients was the key.

In Roasted Vanilla, vanilla’s warmth is layered with oakwood, cognac, and pink pepper. Cruelles connected its roasted impression with charred barrels, combining vanilla’s warmth with dry wood and the stimulation of spice.

The later Wild Coffee pairs the depth of roasted coffee with vivid passion fruit. Fresh fruit provides a contrast that accentuates the coffee’s roasted richness. Oud has an affinity with the coffee and adds a smoky depth.

In 2026, five fragrances extended the collection toward natural scenes and the textures and emotions they evoke. They share the LOEWE Accord, a resinous, ambery accord centered on rockrose. Cruelles explained that varying its proportions across the five fragrances preserves a common signature while allowing each its own identity. Alongside the earlier material-focused compositions, the collection now depicts different moments in nature from a shared foundation.

Cruelles approaches combinations of materials through contrast, affinity, and unexpected pleasure. This can mean setting citrus against oud to bring out brightness, or joining materials with similar facets. These relationships shape the textures and impressions of warmth in the fragrances.

Verdant Grove evokes warmth amid sunlit greenery. Pistachio, iris, and vanilla meet caramel and cedarwood, connecting gourmand sweetness with wood. Cruelles identifies carrot seed and iris here as a pairing based on affinity: their compatibility, rather than a startling contrast, gives the fragrance its gentle cohesion.

Smoky Rain takes its subject from the energy of a summer storm. A fresh opening of bergamot and pink pepper meets the smoke and warmth of incense. Cedarwood, amber, and white musk are also central, bringing the freshness of rain together with smoky depth.

Sweet Woodland evokes repose beneath a canopy of trees lit by sunlight. Ginger accompanies rose and orange blossom, while cognac adds spicy warmth. Patchouli wood and vanilla provide depth, translating bark and shade through flowers and sweetness as well as wood.

Field Diary explores openness and tranquility. Mandarin and blood orange meet lychee and orange blossom, with the aromatic character of artemisia providing contrast. Sandalwood and musk support this bright fruit-and-flower composition. Rosetopia turns toward the abundance of a rose garden in full bloom and the softness of petals. Rose, peony, pink pepper, and amber musk create a broad, full floral impression.

The bottles combine flasks inspired by the organic forms of hand-blown glass with granite caps. Cruelles has suggested that people will want to keep the bottles after the fragrance is finished.

Incidentally…

• The origin of Loewe’s name: “Loewe” means “lion” in German. The brand’s name, however, comes strictly from the founder’s surname and has no direct connection with lions. The Spanish pronunciation is “lo-EH-beh,” though in English-speaking countries it is often pronounced “loh-EH-vay.”​
• Aire and memories of her mother: One of the things that drew in-house perfumer Cruelles into the world of perfume was Loewe’s Aire, which her mother wore. “She gave it to me as a present before she had even used it up,” she recalls.​
• Tomato leaves in perfume: Cruelles is regarded as the person who brought the unprecedented scent of Tomato Leaves into modern fragrance through Home Scents.​
• At home in both wine and perfume: Cruelles is an oenologist as well as a perfumer. “Wine and perfume have much in common. In wine, each ingredient tells the story of how it was made, while perfume evokes sensations, memories, and emotions. They speak two different languages,” she explains.​
• “If it feels right, you are going the wrong way.” Anderson posted this philosophy on Instagram: “My philosophy has always been that if it feels right in the moment, you’re going the wrong way.” (If it feels right in that moment, you are going in the wrong direction.) These words epitomize his contrarian creative spirit.​