Dear Shaded Viewers,
Jonathan Anderson, the visionary behind the JW Anderson label and the creative force at Loewe, is undeniably a master at blending the absurd with the highly desirable. With an inventive twist that only he could conjure, Anderson has yet again set the fashion world abuzz, this time by drawing inspiration from the most unexpected of muses: the British TV comedy “Last of the Summer Wine.” This program, which humorously chronicles the lives of Yorkshire pensioners, seems an improbable font of inspiration for high fashion. Yet, in Anderson’s hands, the worn tweeds, cozy layers, and eccentric British charm of these characters have been transformed into a cutting-edge fashion statement.
Anderson’s approach is a testament to the shifting sands of what’s considered ‘cool.’ In a world where yesterday’s eye-rolls are today’s avant-garde, he taps into a nostalgia that feels fresh and unexpectedly revolutionary. The designer himself notes a broader cultural movement where the old is reborn with vigor, citing the resurgence of icons like Kate Bush and Tracy Chapman as emblematic of this trend. The pandemic era’s knitting revival, spurred on in part by a JW Anderson cardigan worn by Harry Styles, underscores a yearning for the tactile and the heartfelt, a nostalgia that carries the weight of genuine emotion and connection.
The fall collection is a playground of these concepts, blending the pragmatic with the grotesque, the colloquial with the avant-garde. Anderson’s knack for the transformation is on full display: granddad slippers morph into must-have suede and shearling ankle boots; what began as a nod to cozy, domestic comfort becomes the epitome of cool. His designs play with the ordinary, elevating the mundane to the extraordinary, and challenging our perceptions of beauty and style. The use of gray hairdos as hats, the whimsical addition of ribbon-streamer hip belts, and the oversized tweed coats all speak to a designer who delights in the unexpected, who finds beauty in the blend of the affectionate and the hilarious.
Yet, this collection also prompts reflection. In its off-kilter silhouettes, its embrace of the banal, and its questioning of nostalgia, Anderson’s work invites us to consider our own relationships with the past, with fashion, and with the stories we wear on our bodies. The show, despite—or perhaps because of—its departure from the immediate charm of previous collections, serves as a rich ground for contemplation on the cycles of taste, the power of the uncool, and the endless reinvention of the fabric of our lives.
In this latest outing, Jonathan Anderson confirms his status not just as a designer, but as a cultural commentator, adept at weaving the threads of the past into the tapestry of the future. His work is a reminder that in fashion, as in life, the most unexpected sources can lead to the most striking innovations. Anderson’s runway becomes a space where the forgotten or the overlooked is reimagined, inviting us all to look again at what we thought we knew, to find the beauty in the everyday, and to celebrate the peculiarities that make us uniquely human.
Later,
Leticia Dare
