January 18, 2022 |
It was a bittersweet moment for Jonathan Anderson. The designer was due to close out the first week of physical Milan men’s shows since the pandemic began, followed by an afterparty where we would toast to being back at it.
Sadly there was no glass-raising, or any champagne guzzled, for that matter. The spread of Omicron put JW Anderson’s MFW debut on hold till June, with the designer opting instead to shoot a digital catwalk film inside Scala in London’s Kings Cross.
The nightclub was an apt setting for a collection that owes its inspiration to dancefloor snogging, chatting shit in the smokers and pilled-up hugs with your mates under strobe lights. In his show notes, the designer described the 51 looks – which included women’s pre-fall – as “a silly fantasy of unabashed fun”, paring sparkly footy kits with clutch bags shaped like pigeons, and loafers in cartoonish proportions, worn with vest made from hundreds of rubber wristbands.
In Anderson’s world, gendered clothing exists in a kaleidoscopic blur. Minidresses with scalloped-edges exist alongside polo shirt rompers and shiny silver bodysuits. Under the glow of a disco ball, these clothes demand to be seen.
Photography courtesy of JW Anderson.
