Loewe partners with Tim Burton on capsule inspired by “The Nightmare Before Christmas”

Madrid – Historic Spanish fashion house Loewe is shifting into festive mode, unveiling its seasonal capsule for the strategic 2026 Christmas campaign. For the upcoming holiday period, the brand has completely revamped its usual gifting selection. Working alongside acclaimed US film director, producer and screenwriter Tim Burton, Loewe has designed and launched a capsule collection inspired by the iconic cult film “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.

Premiering on October 9, 1993 at the New York Film Festival, the film was selected in 2023 by the US Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry due to its cultural and historical significance. Since its theatrical debut over 33 years ago, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has brought both delight and unsettling nightmares to children entering its gothic, gloomy festive universe, characteristic of its Halloween Town setting. Contrary to popular belief, the film was neither directed by nor developed from a screenplay written by Burton. However, he served as producer and is widely recognised as its intellectual author, as the story is based on a poem he wrote around 1982 while working as an animator at Disney.

Over the years, the movie has become a true cult classic, adored particularly by those now in their thirties who discovered and enjoyed it as children upon its initial release. Ahead of Christmas 2026, the film is once again in the spotlight after Spanish label Loewe chose it as the centrepiece for its festive seasonal capsule. Partnering with Burton himself for the campaign, the Spanish house has reinterpreted the characters and the highly disruptive visual language of the early nineties film. Through this project, Loewe highlights its intention to celebrate the artisanal animation techniques used to film “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. The brand equates this process with the internal craftsmanship implemented at the iconic Spanish label to bring each of its unique designs to life.

“Released by Disney in 1993, Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ was created using stop-motion animation, featuring handmade articulated puppets and intricately crafted miniature sets,” Loewe management stated. As part of this workflow, “the film’s characters began as sketches before being painstakingly translated into three-dimensional form, frame by frame”. The brand emphasised that this “meticulous process” and “its distinct tactile quality” are closely aligned with “Loewe’s approach to craftsmanship, perfected over the past 180 years” of the Spanish house’s history.

Available from November 12

Unveiled during the exact period in which the film is set, between the end of Halloween and the arrival of Christmas, the collection will launch on November 12. From this date, customers will be able to purchase the various bags, accessories, ready-to-wear pieces, small leather goods, fragrances and scented candles. Every item is designed with inspiration drawn from the aesthetics, settings and protagonists of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.

Loewe noted that “privileged” access to the film’s archives, granted by both Disney and Burton, was fundamental in developing the capsule. This allowed its design department, currently led by US design duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, to examine in detail the original sketches and puppets that brought Jack Skellington, Sally, Zero and the rest of the cast to life. Loewe has sought to breathe new life into these characters and the film’s most memorable scenes by utilising its signature artisanal techniques, including leather marquetry, embroidery, printing and enamelling. These methods were used to design and craft standout pieces in the capsule, such as the latest limited-edition versions of Loewe bag models including the Flamenco, the Puzzle and the Amazona 180.

To promote the capsule, the brand produced a short film starring actors, writers, comedians and musicians. The cast features Loewe brand ambassadors, French-American writer and actress Eva Victor and British actor David Jonsson, alongside US actress Sandra Bernhard and US comedian Jordan Firstman. The audiovisual piece is complemented by campaign photography shot by Paul Kooiker and a short documentary starring Burton himself. The documentary offers a deeper look into this artisanal work and the creative process behind “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and its characters.

“Through the collection, the campaign and the short documentary, this collaboration pays homage to Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ and to the hands capable of shaping imaginary worlds,” Loewe stated. This tribute takes the form of a seasonal capsule where “the universe of the film has been reinterpreted through leather marquetry, embroidery, prints, enamels and other signature materials and techniques” of the Spanish house. As the brand detailed, these processes “are combined with unexpected structures, hybrid materiality and the layering of archetypes to translate the spirit of the film into a kind of wearable surrealism”.