What we can learn from Loewe's meme-inspired bag

The meme-to-luxury fashion pipeline needs to be studied.

If you told Karl Lagerfeld high fashion now draws inspo from obscure internet jokes, he would be rolling in his grave.

But it’s 2024. We live in a lawless land, and nothing is off the cards.

Such is the case with Loewe, and their tomato-shaped bag.

If you’re a part of our community of netizens you would have seen the viral tomato meme floating around the fashion community.

If you actually have a life, let me fill you in.

Basically, somebody tweeted a pic of a beautiful heirloom tomato with lots of glossy grooves. Then somebody retweeted it, calling the tomato 'so Loewe.'

Nothing too spectacular, just regular internet behaviour.

Creative director of Loewe, Jonathan Anderson, reposted it on his Instagram and that was seemingly the end of it.

But then three days later, he posted a Reel of his latest design, a tomato-shaped clutch inspired by the meme.

'Loewe meme to reality,' he captioned the video of the bright red heirloom bag. The bag had gold stem and leaf features, complete with a snap closure around the sides of the bag. His reel has now garnered close to 3 million views.

What an incredibly fast internet to real-life turn around.

This clutch ties back to one of Loewe’s best-selling fragrances named 'Tomato Leaves,' which is available as a candle and other accessories. So it makes sense as to why this X user made the comparison.

The brand is also no stranger to creating whimsical clutches. They've made them in the shape of a penguin, elephant, pigeon and frog.

This also comes after the 2023 trend of 'tomato girl summer' that dominated social media. This was a retro, Mediterranean-inspired aesthetic of headscarves and floating linen (these are getting out of hand now.)

This tomato clutch shows just how well Loewe understands the cultural climate.

I’ve spoken recently about not just jumping on trends and memes if you want to create lasting impact with your campaigns.

But what happened here is not that.

First, this isn’t even a campaign. This seemingly fun little addition to the meme’s lifecycle contributed to the conversation in a way that showed Loewe was not only listening, but unserious enough to have fun in the same way its consumers do.

It also has shock factor. Because who makes a designer bag in three days? Let alone a meme-inspired one.

Viral sensations on social media are increasingly driving the development of limited-edition products that capitalise on the immense, short-lived interest of consumers.

Understanding how to interact with these trends is how you drive conversation and stay relevant in your audience's eyes.

Loewe is one of the main high fashion brands that's choosing to step away from their traditional approach. The brand is adapting to incorporate Gen Z’s love for pop culture, novelty and eccentricity. And it's capturing the younger, more experimental market of fashion enthusiasts.

In 2023, the brand created pixelated hoodies that looked like they’d been pulled out of a Minecraft screen – a game wildly popular among Gen-Zers.

Earlier this year, they created tennis ball heels for Zendaya’s press tour of the film Challengers, which was the talk of the town for a hot minute.

This goes to show that Loewe knows who they’re speaking to, and how to say it.

My takeaways:

Move fast. Loewe’s rapid transformation of viral meme to physical product shows us how valuable it is to act quickly to engage with online trends. Stay vigilant for viral content that resonates with your brand so you can capture the moment.

Understand cultural context. Loewe knows how to speak to the younger market they’re trying to capture through the use of pop culture. So integrate cultural context into your campaigns and product lines if you want to be a part of the global conversation.

-Sophie, Writer