Loewe Brings Its Luxury Leather-Making to San Francisco

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Angel Fernandez began crafting leather for luxury brand Loewe—the official leather-supplier to the Spanish Monarchy—when he was 14. Now 67, he's worked for the brand most of his life. Last week, he visited the San Francisco Neiman Marcus to demonstrate his finely honed craft.

After 53 years of developing his skills, Fernandez was a marvel to watch as he transformed a leather scrap into a small, bear-shaped coin purse for transfixed on lookers. He was one of the first artisans to work on Loewe's iconic Amazona bag, which was established in 1939 and holds its own among the Hermes Birkin and Chanel 2.55. Fernandez is one of a fading group of leather tradesmen in the fashion world, and he's enjoying his "retirement" by traveling the country in preparation for Loewe's first United States store, scheduled to open in Miami in late 2014.

"Loewe is very popular in Europe and Asia. This is a chance for people in the U.S. to see the skill and technique we use to create our beautiful leather bags," Loewe spokeswoman Marta Plana told us.

Loewe is also spreading the word in the US by recruiting Penelope Cruz for its 2013 Spring advertising campaign , and the brand was featured in the American April issues of Vogue, W and Bazaar .
--by Sara Iravani
· Loewe [Official Site]
· Behind the Scenes With Loewe Luxury Goods [SF Gate]
· All Luxury Posts [Racked SF]