LOEWE celebrates the Qixi Festival with exclusive designs featuring hedgehogs, including a series of accessories and charms for specially created bags.
The Qixi Festival is all about love and healing and the collection traces the steps taken by our love-struck hedgehogs in a perforated path meandering across a Puzzle Fold Tote, Tote Mini, and Pouch. The exclusive pieces are accompanied by a commissioned animated short film titled ‘A Tale of Catching Stars’ which features the two hedgehogs.
The scene is set by Chinese actor and host Lin Dongfu, whose soothing tones narrate the short film, which sees the hearts of two hedgehogs collide over the spikes of cactus fruit, durian, and the stars of the night sky. With its paper-cut flowers and fireflies, the stop-frame film directed by BAFTA-winning director Nina Gantz celebrates the craft of handmade animation while paying homage to nostalgic Chinese artistry. Its visual elements inform the collection’s campaign photographs where durians and lotus flowers are transformed into surreal installations embracing the aesthetics of the Qixi Festival.
Released in limited-edition colourways of Dark Burgundy, Sahara and Spring Green, the bags are adorned with a pair of intricately crafted gold and silver hedgehog pins. A limited edition of the Flamenco Clutch in Dirty Mauve also features the spiky love-struck pair, scrambling over its braided handle. Hedgehog metal dice and soft felt charms are sold separately, further imbuing the Qixi collection with love’s warm, fuzzy feeling.