JW Anderson’s Diamonds in the Riff
Review of JW Anderson Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Much like how a comedian can make merry from the mundane, Jonathan Anderson’s riffs on the run-of-the-mill never get old. Underwear as outerwear is hardly a new trend, but it’s one that is often linked with the ‘boudoir’ rather than the bedrooms of ordinary Brits. Today the designer put paid to that as he delved beneath the twinsets of the ordinary folk and – suffice to say – pointelle knitted underwear will never be seen in the same way again. They may even take over the Miu Miu knitted pant trend beloved of the street style set, who could take to wearing their Marks & Spencer multi-packs all at once, citing Anderson as inspiration.
Taking it back to the old idea of ‘Neighbourhood watch’, when inquisitive neighbours would actually take to peeking through their curtains, as a way to keep an eye on what “Her at number 54” was up to, Anderson gave us his iteration of the trusty thermal underwear set, reminiscent of those which the infamous high-street stalwart (Marks and Spencer) still carries to this day. Worn in threes as a throwback to a nostalgic time when the women of the neighbourhood would hang their laundry on the washing line, and would converse (read gossip) over the fence. A pastime of a bygone era often only seen in re-runs of old soap operas or shows such as the British favourite ‘Last of the Summer Wine’, which the designer said backstage was “a very strange part of the furniture in Britain”, but it fit his idea of probing the ways in which everyday life is ripe for reframing.
Speaking to The Impression backstage there was also the idea of the grotesque in the everyday, and while it may be hard to envision the ubiquitous classic wool coat straying into the repulsive, by distortion anything is possible. If you look to how the pigeon clutch popped up in the revival of Sex and the City (And Just Like That), then today’s wig ‘hats’ are surely destined for similar notoriety via virality. On this the designer said “We took these ideas and [broke them down]. We made a hat that was a wig, and we ripped all the lining out of a coat, so it had completely bad construction, [it was that idea of] bad construction”.
The grotesque also played out with weight and volume control. As polo dresses were made from extra-heavy knits, and a knitted dress became a caricature of itself, with the woven yarns blown-up to comic proportions. Which was the designer looking at the things that surround us in our homes every day, so soft furnishings as an example “we knitted everything, [and] we were looking at more interior materials, things that felt a bit more robust” Anderson revealed. The hourglass shaped dresses which sat away from the body, accentuating the hips, also looked to be a follow on from the designer’s plasticine designs for summer 2024 and were some of the more ‘pragmatic’ pieces for fall 2024.
Today’s collection presented as a nostalgic nod to an era of British history which has long-since faded away. But Anderson’s way of making the old seem new again is an acknowledgement that for a generation these ideas will be new. “I think there is something happening with young people, where they are really glorifying nostalgia – so Kate Bush suddenly becomes number one. It’s about mixing things that we all know, that my parents know, and they’re reconfiguring them so they feel new again. And there is something I find quite fascinating in this idea that suddenly a song from 50 years ago can be number 1 with the same energy” the designer said.
But nostalgia for Anderson is nothing to fear, in fact it is something he feels we should feel excited about. Rather than being afraid of reliving our past lives, looking back gives the chance to look again with fresh eyes, because as he noted “Young people are discovering nostalgia, and it [is becoming] glorified”.
THE BUZZWORDS
Distorted dressing, grotesque everyday, colloquialism
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Capturing the everyday celebratory tropes of British life, Jonathan Anderson reframes the rosettes given during dressage competitions as a fringed skirt to layer over a chunky knit.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
This is the end of year for me as it starts after these shows – the beginning of the next season , and it feels like a round up of the last year. Going from the show in Italy to something a bit more pragmatic, in terms of the clothing there was the layering of underwear, and the idea of this Marks and Spencer blouse from the 1970s with the tiny bows that were continued from the last show. It felt slightly twisted in terms of the woman next door.
Jonathan Anderson, Creative Director, JW Anderson
THE WRAP UP
This season Anderson’s interest was piqued by the state of his wearers mind when getting dressed every day. What items have become so familiar that they are applied on rote, as a habitually repetitive task. But to see it in anew requires distortion. A stretching, elongation, or twisting of proportions and an approach of informality. Anderson is far from done going down this thematic road and has proved that there are many more ways to disrupt the everyday.
