Jonathan Anderson Returns To His Collection Of Ancient Greek Ceramics As Inspiration For A New Series Of Handcrafted Jasper Stoneware
Wedgwood and JW Anderson are continuing a collaboration that feels unusually rooted in the interests and craft traditions behind the two names.
For Volume II of their partnership, Jonathan Anderson once again looks to fifth-century Greek mugs from his personal ceramics collection, using the ancient forms as the starting point for a new series of limited-edition objects handcrafted in Wedgwood’s Jasper stoneware in Barlaston, England. Rather than substantially changing the premise established by the first collection, the second installment goes deeper, exploring how color, light and shadow can alter the character of the forms.
That continuity is central to what makes the collaboration interesting. Anderson’s longstanding interest in ceramics gives the project a personal foundation, while Wedgwood brings techniques and material knowledge stretching back centuries. The result sits somewhere between a design collaboration and an ongoing conversation with decorative arts history.
At the center of Volume II is Wedgwood’s distinctive ribbed, engine-turned finish, a technique the company adapted for ceramics in 1763. The process creates a precise, sculptural surface across the vessels, while the matte, biscuit-like character of the Jasper stoneware allows changes in color and shadow to become particularly pronounced.
Color becomes the primary point of evolution this time around.
The pieces are conceived in complementary pairs, with one shade acting as a chromatic counterpart to another. Mercury Blue is paired with Jasper Blue, referencing historic Wedgwood colors; Dark Brown meets Terracotta in a combination evocative of clay itself; and Marsh Green is paired with Sage Green, drawing from the natural landscape surrounding Wedgwood’s Barlaston home. A fourth combination, Meadow Green and Shadow Grey, will be exclusive to Harrods.
“We’ve remained true to the Wedgwood palette, drawing on the surrounding landscape that I believe would have inspired Josiah himself,” said Wedgwood Creative Director Emma Glynn.
Glynn describes Wedgwood’s relationship with color as being less about individual shades than about what happens when colors are placed alongside one another. That thinking gives Volume II its reason for existing: the underlying forms and techniques remain connected to the first installment, while their character shifts through new combinations of color, surface and light.
It also points to why the partnership works beyond the familiar mechanics of a fashion collaboration. Rather than depending primarily on the recognition created by placing two names together, Wedgwood and JW Anderson are treating the project more like a continuing body of work, with a vocabulary that can be revisited and developed from one edition to the next.
There is an appealing circularity to the process. Anderson begins with ancient Greek ceramics he has personally collected; those references are filtered through manufacturing methods developed by Wedgwood centuries later; and the resulting objects emerge as contemporary pieces carrying both names.
That movement between periods is particularly appropriate for Wedgwood. Instead of simply borrowing the visual codes of its archive, Volume II makes an historic production technique part of the contemporary proposition. Each piece is handcrafted by Wedgwood artisans in Barlaston, maintaining a physical connection between the collaboration and the company’s ceramic-making heritage.
For Anderson, meanwhile, the project offers another expression of the dialogue between fashion, collecting, craft and the decorative arts that has long informed his creative world.
Volume II of the Wedgwood x JW Anderson collection will be available through Wedgwood, JW Anderson flagship stores and select retailers worldwide, with the Meadow Green and Shadow Grey set exclusive to Harrods. A launch date has not yet been specified.
