In his formative years, Stanley Kubrick’s final film ‘Eyes Wide Shut’, famously starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, left quite the impression on Jonathan Anderson. Revisiting the film over the summer with new eyes, the designer began to study what was happening around the action, particularly the film’s sets.
From tasseled curtains to its crimson interiors, one of the first things that stuck out to the designer was the paintings that hung on the walls. They were the creation of the director’s wife, Christiane Kubrick, whose artworks were lifted and woven into his JW Anderson AW24 men’s collection. Floor-length column dresses, colourful knits and a series of bags were decorated with the artist’s kitschy drawings, lacing the collection with a sense of foreboding that suffocates the film.
“Everything is off,” wrote the designer in his show notes, as he peppered garments with an air of perversion and an overall oddness. Most models came dressed sheer tights, worn with blood-red cable knits, duster coats and bulky shorts which harked back to the designer’s infamous SS13 collection. Satin and velvet frocks sensually clung to models’ frames, with Poinsettias decorating a slew of the looks (a flower Anderson admitted backstage he found “disgusting”). It was at once cinematic, kinky and strange, making for an excellent cocktail that packed serious punch.
Photography by Christina Fragkou.
