CAREER ARC: Isla Johnston, selected for the lead role in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Joan of Arc biopic, is Loewe‘s latest brand ambassador — the first to be named by its new creative duo.
Foreshadowing the appointment, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez featured the 18-year-old English actress in a teaser campaign last fall ahead of their Oct. 3 debut show for Loewe during Paris Fashion Week, which Johnston also attended.
She started her career as a child actress in the British television programs “Kiri” and “Doctors,” going on to star in the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit.” Her film credits include “The Carpenter’s Son” and the yet-to-be-released horror movie “Visitation.”
In a statement shared first with WWD, McCollough and Hernandez lauded Johnston’s “freshness,” which they contend applies to her approach to acting, and her “way of being in the world.”
“Isla belongs to a new generation of actors: spontaneous, talented, and dynamic. She embodies the Loewe ethos with complete naturalness,” they added.
For her part, Johnston said, “What I connect with most about Loewe stems from something Lazaro said to me about the opportunities the house gave them in the world of fashion. I understood it’s a rarity to have both the resources to create and an audience that genuinely celebrates creativity — to be allowed to carve your own path with the label to support it.
“In a way, this sentiment mirrors where I am in my own career,” she said. “I’ve been given opportunities to share my own creations and tell people’s stories the best I can. It’s in this spirit of creative freedom that I see my own journey reflected in that of the house.”
McCollough and Hernandez are to stage their sophomore show for Loewe on March 6 during Paris Fashion Week. The American duo joined the Spanish luxury house a year ago, stepping down from Proenza Schouler, the brand they founded in New York in 2002.
Isla Johnston at Loewe’s spring 2026 show in Paris.
Courtesy of Loewe
