Jonathan Anderson - Designer, Creative Director of J.W. Anderson & Loewe

[Creative]

So unexpected. I'm kind of shocked.

J.W. Anderson Named to Loewe

PARIS — “I love Paris. It’s the most sophisticated city,” Jonathan Anderson said as he stood on the Champs-Élysées — and on top of the fashion world.

On Wednesday, the Irish-born designer, who has become a shining star of London Fashion Week, was given a major injection of funding to his five-year-old J.W. Anderson brand by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. At the same time, he has been made creative director of Loewe, the Spanish leather brand that is part of the LVMH luxury stable.

“It’s very exciting,” said Mr. Anderson, who arrived in Paris from Dalston, the hip but rough area of northeast London where he works in a studio with just 14 people. But all that is now set to change with the tantalizing possibility of stores for his brand and the opportunity to spread his creative talent.

Behind the deal are Delphine Arnault, the daughter of the LVMH chairman and chief executive, Bernard Arnault, and Pierre-Yves Roussel, the chairman and chief executive of the LVMH Fashion Group.

“When Delphine and I first met Jonathan, we immediately felt that we could help him express the full potential of his innovative brand,” Mr. Roussel said. “And while discussing our partnership better, it became clear that his understanding of all the creative facets of a brand and his capacity to transform tradition into an exciting vision for the present could also make him the perfect creative director at Loewe.”

Mr. Anderson tells the same story in a less formal way.

“After the autumn/winter show, I sat down with Delphine and Pierre-Yves — and for me they are just a natural partner. They excite me and they understand me — and I understand them,” the designer said. “And when you do this, you want people who believe in you.”

The J.W. Anderson brand is known for its transgender clothes, using frills for men and crossing boundaries in silhouette, fabric and structure for the once-separated sexes. He started with men’s wear, but his unexpected use of fabrics, especially in giving synthetics a couture treatment, led to his first women’s line for autumn/winter 2010.

Mr. Anderson, who has been his fledgling company’s designer, chief financial officer and “shrink,” says that he set out to develop a brand that will still exist “when I am no longer here.” He believes that in the new structure, his backers have the resources and the knowledge to grow the small company, which earned a profit last year and already has more than 70 retail sales points.

For Loewe, where his first collection may be shown next season or in a year’s time, Mr. Anderson is hoping to draw on his Irish Catholic roots and to what he sees as the rich artistic heritage of Spain.

“I remember going to Barcelona with my mother, scaling the Sagrada Família. I can’t imagine what it must have been like when Gaudí built those buildings that looked like they came from outer space,” he said, referring to the still-unfinished basilica that Antoni Gaudí began in 1882.

“I love Spanish culture,” he continued. “I like the ceramics there. I love the color tone. They have had some of the greatest artists, like Picasso — and they also had Balenciaga.”

Balenciaga, the brand, now belongs to Kering (formerly PPR), which it bought in 2001, after a busy period of luxury acquisitions in the 1990s. More recently, in January 2013, the luxury group, headed by François-Henri Pinault, bought a controlling stake in the brand of the designer Christopher Kane, another powerful young British talent.

This t*t-for-tat of brand acquisition suggests a reprise of the earlier period when Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen were bought by what was then PPR.

While any fledgling designer could only be thrilled that a giant group was prepared to offer investment support, others in the fashion industry are concerned that designers might be forced to give their all at a young age, although Mr. Anderson is adamant that he will be able to work at his own pace and is excited only at the new opportunities.

“I think that’s the most important part of it,” he said. “These companies are taking faith in young talent. It happened in the ’90s. For me, it’s philanthropy — someone needs to do it.”

For small, independent retailers, who are often those who nurture young talent, this investment will be another blow, as the usual LVMH strategy is to open stores for designers, first in key cities, then across the world. Kering has already said it will open a London store for Mr. Kane.

But the luxury world is in need of talent, with next season already promising changes at Loewe, Mugler, Rochas and Schiaparelli.

Jean-Jacques Picart, a Paris-based consultant for luxury fashion and accessory brands, spells out the reality of being a young and dynamic designer in the 21st century.

“Either you get on a car that goes dangerously fast,” he says, “or you walk and find yourself plodding behind.”


By Suzy Menkes

nytimes

 

[ChristianThomas]

Well can't say I'm not curious what this combo will bring forth..

Hope the extra money can get the quality of the clothing up a few notches.

 

[jeanclaude]

Remembering his last collection for Versus, I expect Loewe clothes and accessories all covered on LOEWE tags...
I really cannot picture him in Loewe. Sorry; but I just can´t.

 

[iclawhands]

what, the actual f*ck.

 

[StoneSkipper]

I think they're trying to inject more energy into the label and attract a younger customer; Either way, it has to be said: WHAT.

 

[Marc10]

Well i'm definitely intrigued to see the outcome of this. When Jonathan keeps it grounded and doesn't go too student project-ish, he can produce really good collections. I'm always here unusual collaborations and Loewe can certainly use some excitement.

 

[IsabelMarantBoy]

I'm going to miss Stuart Vevers, that's all I can say

 

[tatouejeremie]

i'm not sure what to think of this, i guess they know what they're doing?

 

[Not Plain Jane]

To be honest, I am not that familiar with Loewe, so I don't know how to react to this. He certainly has talent.

Does this mean he'll do this and continue with his eponymous label?

 

[tatouejeremie]

^ the article states lvmh has also 'injected major funding' in his own line

what surprises me the most is that he has never designed a proper bag, the results you get by googling are quite shocking

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=j...source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=vFpDUv-XHcGK4wTmsYBI

for a house that relies so heavily on accessories they sure are taking a big risk with him

 

[VogueDisciple93]

I look forward to the outcome, as I can't imagine what it will look like. Does he have the chops to support such a accessories driven brand? I don't imagine the Loewe customer being highly receptive of his "experimental" aesthetics. Time will tell.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

what was wrong with the Loewe before? I liked it especially last season

 

[Jacque Marcel]

Stuart Vevers is totally underrated. He has designed some really nice collections for Loewe but doesn't get the acclaim since its not for a major label. I hope he does great things at Coach.

 

[GERGIN]

Jesus.

 

[iclawhands]

in my opinion, not deserving of his success. an example of excellent networking and good luck.

 

[jeanclaude]

in my opinion, not deserving of his success. an example of excellent networking and good luck.

Totally agree!!

 

[Pradable]

Oh no, Vevers was so great. Such a shame!

 

[Phuel]

These companies absolutely couldn't care less for real talent: they hire one-trick ponies like Anderson and Nicola Formichetti because they're banking on the hype and popularity/notoriety of these types will fuel interest in their brands to sell bags, shoes and cosmetics. It's all so transparent and I'm glad people here see that: It's not about nurturing or supporting young talent. And it's hardly philanthropy, J.W... Jeez. He'll be gone if a few seasons if he doesn't generate enough hype and cache with the brand to sell bags and shoes. If he were smart, he would start developing mostly solid pieces to show alongside the nonsense that he's known for.

I grew tired of his one-note tune from his very first collection and think of him as a Sacha Baron-invention: A strictly caricature of fashion. Gauliter and Hedi has and are doing "transgender" designs so much more intelligently, more thoughtful, more progressive and just plain more interesting and beautiful than he's been able to. Are people's attention-span so short that they're desperate for this guy? Poor Loewe.

 

[Moofins]

He can't even design beautiful clothing for his own brand, what are we supposed to expect from this?

 

[Crying Diamonds]

what, the actual f*ck.

Just coming to the Designers and Collections section to see Lanvin.
I went cold when I saw this thread title.

You are actually kidding me with this right? You are actually kidding me?

He may have a terribly cute face and retiring personality, but he is, without doubt, one of the worst designers showing during fashion month, and certainly the worst showing in London.
J.W. Anderson's vision for spring is binbags tied with string. His idea of designing a 30-outfit collection is to design five outfits and then repeat them five times without any kind of variation apart from the colour.

This is like a slap in the face, replace Stuart Vevers at Loewe, one collection in Paris I genuinely look forward to, with one of the only designers I genuinely can't abide.

I'd like to know where Stuart Vevers is going, because he hasn't shown a collection I haven't liked at Loewe since he started.