LOEWE leather brand successful with mega-rich

Loewe. It is best known as one of the finest leather houses in the world, a Spanish Louis Vuitton one might say. It dates back to 1846 when a leather workshop was set up in Madrid. Just under 30 years later an immigrant German leather craftsman, Enrique Roessberg Loewe, joined forces with the old-school leather worker and establish a brand. In less than 20 years, leather goods bearing his name were a familiar sight in Madrid and it was granted a royal appointment by King Alfonso XIII. By the Seventies it was a global brand, and the Amazona was one of the most coveted handbags in the world. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the company became part of the LVMH group in 1996. But in the UK it never seemed to reach the level of renown of its stable mates, which was just fine with the Loewe aficionados.

Then in 2007 Stuart Vevers, ex-design director of Mulberry, moved to Madrid to take up the reins as creative director, and called in his old friend British super-stylist Katie Grand to help him reinvent the brand.

In March [2011] it opens its only UK store on London's Mount Street. Although the menswear line is not available yet, it is providing a made-to-measure service, where clients who want its butter-soft leather pieces will be catered for. So the secret may be out, but only the lucky few will be able to indulge. Which suits us aficionados just as much as keeping it quiet.