Jonathan Anderson's LOEWE shined so brightly that it sometimes became difficult to parse the glare. His LOEWE could and did do anything, normalizing wildly inventive handbags one day and repositioning the quintessential dad shoe as a luxury the next. It all worked, amazingly enough. But there was one thing that Anderson's LOEWE did really well but was rarely ever credited for.

Under Anderson, LOEWE's trouser game was as unmatched as it was underrated. Look to Pre-Spring/Summer 2026, the last LOEWE collection before new creative directors Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough take the house in a faithfully fresh direction, for proof.

Anderson's LOEWE trousers often went undersung because, in our attention economy, a perfect pair of cleverly curved cargo pants can never hold a candle to shorts sculpted from clay (both items were presented in the same collection). Necessary runway theatrics too often trump substance.

But in LOEWE's Pre-SS26 collection, there's a little of both.

The collection was designed by LOEWE's in-house design team as it arrives between Anderson's departure and prior to Hernandez and McCollough's arrival — LOEWE did not respond to a request for clarification — but it clearly shows Anderson's influence.

Cargo trousers, an Anderson classic, are cut loose but refined with baker-style pockets and darts that subtly shape the leg; full-figured trousers are defined by meaty box pleats that frame a tiny pocket or expand, on a pair of corduroys, into an unexpected patch of aran knit; leather slacks are treated for high-shine or dull gleam, depending on color; denim is washed and generous, as it should be.

And, as cool as all these pants are, they're hardly even LOEWE's finest. That's a toss-up between the insane wrapped harem-style slacks created for Spring/Summer 2025 and the high-waisted jeans quietly produced every season, sometimes knowingly exaggerated for the sheer sake of drama. As a matter of fact, LOEWE would often not make a big deal about its excellent trousers: one of the best cuts that it produced in perpetuity was a pair of relaxed low-rise trousers that could be worn high, low, or anywhere in between.

LOEWE's trouser game was so good because it reframed the ordinary as extra. There would always be some wild touches but at its core, it was all remarkably wearable. Not just wearable, even, but interesting. But this sort of below-the-belt innovation is hardly ever headline news. How could it be when LOEWE was simultaneously turning out droolworthy outerwear, genius sneakers, and Studio Ghibli collaborations?

But that's the beauty of a truly great pair of pants. Even when the gleam of all that other stuff wears away, you can always come back to a great pair of pants.

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