Where Loewe bags are made — Getafe, Spain (mostly)

Most luxury bag buyers assume every LVMH house is French or Italian. Loewe isn't. Loewe is Spanish — founded in Madrid in 1846 by German craftsmen who set up leather-goods workshops in the city, and still made in Spain today. The Puzzle, the Hammock, the Amazona, the Flamenco — all stitched in Getafe, an industrial town on the southern edge of Madrid.

The fact most people don't know about Loewe

Loewe's main leather-goods factory has been in Getafe since the 1970s. It's about fifteen kilometres from central Madrid, a low industrial building with roughly 200 artisans on site. This is where the Puzzle bag was engineered when Jonathan Anderson took over as creative director in 2013, and where every Puzzle sold today is cut and stitched.

Some newer collaboration lines and small leather goods have shifted to Italian production over the past few years — LVMH occasionally moves specific product families to Italian ateliers to tap into different specialisations. But the core Loewe leather-goods identity is Spanish, and the flagship bags are Getafe-made.

Spain: the other great European leather tradition

Spain is under-discussed in luxury-leather conversations, but it has a serious industry — particularly in Andalusia (Ubrique, a small town in Cádiz province, has hundreds of leather workshops) and in Madrid. Loewe was founded in Madrid because the Spanish court and aristocracy created a market for saddle and leather craftsmanship going back centuries.

The Spanish tradition is different from the Tuscan one. Where Florence specialises in fine calf and structured luxury bags, Spain specialises in supple, drapey leathers, hand-plaited construction (the Amazona is an example), and unusual finishes. The Loewe Puzzle's geometric construction — sixteen leather panels folding into a cube that flattens — is a distinctly Spanish engineering feat.

Who else works in Spain

Ubrique in Cádiz has been quietly producing for a lot of luxury houses for decades. LVMH, Kering and other groups source specific bag lines and small leather goods there. The Ubrique workshops are also where Loewe outsources some smaller items.

LIETA does not currently produce in Spain — our atelier is in Scandicci, Tuscany — but the Spanish leather-goods tradition is genuinely on par with the Italian one at the top end. Just less famous, because there's no equivalent of the Milan Fashion Week marketing machine.

What "Made in Spain" means for Loewe

Loewe's main leather bags carry a "Made in Spain" stamp, and it means what it says: cut, stitched, assembled and finished at Getafe. The leather is often Spanish or Italian — Loewe sources from tanneries in both countries, plus one Portuguese supplier. Hardware is European.

The exceptions are limited: some small leather goods, some canvas pieces (the LOEWE anagram jacquard bags), and some collaboration lines may have Italian production. The Puzzle, Hammock, Amazona and Flamenco — the identity bags — are Spanish.

What our connection looks like

LIETA is a Tuscan operation, not a Spanish one — so unlike our Hermès or Fendi articles, we don't share a workshop district with Loewe. What we do share is the tannery supply. Some of the vegetable-tanned Italian calf that ends up on Loewe Puzzles comes from the same Tuscan tanneries we buy from, including Walpier in Castelfranco di Sotto.

What we also share is the model: small-scale, direct-to-customer, quality-first, without a global boutique network subsidising the sticker price. Loewe is not that model any more — it's a €1.2B LVMH brand with 200+ boutiques — but it started that way in the 1840s.

Why Loewe Puzzle is €2,900 and ours is €255

Production cost. A Puzzle bag is a genuinely intricate object — sixteen panels, specific engineering, careful edge painting. Real production cost lands around €300-500. Comparable in magnitude to our production cost on similarly-scaled bags.

Real estate. Loewe boutiques are on Rue Saint-Honoré, Bond Street, Ginza. Every one is millions per year in rent.

Marketing. Creative directors (Anderson until 2024, Proenza Schouler duo since), campaigns, fashion week, ambassadors. LVMH group overhead.

We don't have that infrastructure. What we sell is the bag.

How to spot a Loewe that's actually made well

Anagram stitching. The interlocked LOEWE anagram — inside the bag or on hardware — should be crisp, evenly stitched or embossed, with the four Ls perfectly symmetrical. Sloppy anagrams are a fake tell.

Puzzle construction. On a real Puzzle, the sixteen panel corners meet with knife-precise stitching. The bag should hold its cube shape when empty, and flatten cleanly when folded. Cheap replicas droop.

Interior lining. Loewe uses cotton canvas with a subtle anagram print. The stitching around the internal pocket is invisible from the outside.

Hardware. Loewe uses solid brass with a matte gold or ruthenium finish depending on the line. Weighty, no fingernail marks, and cold to the touch.

Frequently asked questions

Are Loewe bags made in Spain or Italy?

Mostly Spain. Loewe's main leather bags — Puzzle, Hammock, Amazona, Flamenco — are produced at the company's Getafe factory near Madrid, where approximately 200 artisans work. Some small leather goods and collaboration pieces are made in Italy. Country of origin is stamped inside each bag.

Where is the Loewe Puzzle made?

The Loewe Puzzle bag is produced at Loewe's Getafe factory, fifteen kilometres south of Madrid. The bag's sixteen-panel geometric construction was engineered specifically for this facility when Jonathan Anderson introduced the Puzzle in 2013.

Is Loewe still Spanish?

Loewe was founded in Madrid in 1846 and remains headquartered in Spain today, with its main production in Getafe. Since 1996, however, Loewe has been part of the LVMH group — so ownership is French, even though production and heritage stay Spanish.

Who owns Loewe?

Loewe has been owned by LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) since 1996. Jonathan Anderson served as creative director from 2013 to 2024. In 2025, the Proenza Schouler design duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez took over as creative directors.