Some collections start with sketches. This one started with a person.
Ode to Luchita is named for Luchita Hurtado — an artist whose life and work stayed quietly powerful for decades before the world really caught up. She was discovered later in life, after years of making work with conviction, curiosity, and zero concern for recognition. There’s something deeply grounding about that.
I first encountered Luchita’s work in 2020, when LACMA presented her retrospective. It stopped me. Not in a loud way — in a steady, almost intimate way. Her work felt lived-in. Wise. Unrushed. It carried the weight of time without ever feeling heavy.
Luchita was Venezuelan by birth, Los Angeles–based by choice, and she lived to be 100 years old. A full century of seeing, observing, making, and evolving. She didn’t follow trends. She didn’t rush. She just kept going.
That way of being resonates deeply with me — and with LA LOOP.
Why Luchita
LA LOOP has always been about quiet confidence. About restraint. About making things that last — not just physically, but emotionally. Luchita’s life and work embody those same values. She reminds us that relevance doesn’t have to be immediate, and impact doesn’t need to announce itself.
There’s a kind of elegance in patience. In trusting your point of view. In letting the work speak when it’s ready.
The Collection
Every season at LA LOOP begins the same way — not with product, but with inspiration. We start by gathering references, images, textures, and colors, building a moodboard that helps ground us before a single style is designed. It’s our way of slowing down, of making sure the collection has an emotional center before it has a form.
For Spring Summer 26, that moodboard was deeply influenced by Luchita — her palette, her restraint, and the way color appears in her work with confidence but never excess.
The colors in Ode to Luchita all trace back to that starting point. From the poppy, fiery red of Georgie, to the saturated cobalt blue of Gil, to the soft, airy cloud tone in Wolfe, each hue was chosen intentionally. Together, they echo the feeling of the moodboard — grounded, expressive, and quietly bold.
The pieces themselves are pared back and considered. Nothing excessive. Nothing performative. Just thoughtful design meant to live with you — to be worn daily, layered naturally, and carried forward over time.
A Personal Reflection
What moved me most about Luchita wasn’t just her work — it was her timeline. The idea that a life devoted to making, learning, and observing can unfold exactly as it’s meant to. That recognition can come later. That longevity, in every sense, matters.
LA LOOP is now decades into its own story. This collection felt like a moment to pause, reflect, and honor that kind of long view — one rooted in consistency, curiosity, and care.
Ode to Luchita is a quiet tribute. To an artist. To a life fully lived. To the belief that doing things with integrity, over time, is enough.
— Elizabeth
