JW Anderson S/S 2023 London

[WAVES]

he’s making his money out of those t-shirts and hoodies I guess but it would be way more interesting to see him explore more of the volumes, knitwear… the long silk and lace dresses are gorgeous though.

 

[Overindulgence]

I like the chainmail ripped-denim effect shorts in looks 17 and 25.

Look 26 reminds me of Margiela s/s 2010 due to the stock image print body suit and boots. Those boots will probably sell well. In fact, there were strong Margiela-isms throughout the whole collection.

 

[Norden]

I agree on the margiela references, poor margiela appearing on everyone’s moodboards.

I never liked his mainline, I think it’s a bit unfocused and overpriced for what it is. But I appreciate his experimentation

 

[tricotineacetat]

The more successful he's become over the years, I asked myself more and more what it is about him that made him stand out from other designers of his generation? Proficiency in craft, a radically different point of view consequently followed? Creating disruptive fashion moments or the ability to generate a cult following?

I am still failing to see the "it" about him that would justify his place among the 'big' designers of today, or even above some of his London predecessors from the wave before like Hussein Chalayan, Sophia Kokosalaki etc.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

The more successful he's become over the years, I asked myself more and more what it is about him that made him stand out from other designers of his generation? Proficiency in craft, a radically different point of view consequently followed? Creating disruptive fashion moments or the ability to generate a cult following?

I am still failing to see the "it" about him that would justify his place among the 'big' designers of today, or even above some of his London predecessors from the wave before like Hussein Chalayan, Sophia Kokosalaki etc.

First, I think he has really good taste. So despite whatever kooky idea he puts on the runway, it's all supported by an aesthetic universe that is covetable and inviting.

Second, he understands the concept of "cool," which is something Chalayan and Kokosolaki never really understood despite being more technically proficient designers. You can be the most amazingly skilled patternmaker in the world, but if you're just a little cheesy or naf, it will get you nowhere. Knowing what is or isn't cool is paramount and can't be stressed enough. It usually requires huge amounts of self-awareness which, ironically, is not cool.

Third, while far from being a technically-oriented designer, he appreciates craftsmanship and technique. Enough to direct a studio of more skilled designers. His ideas, regardless of whether of not they are good ideas, are always executed well. So they may not be salable or wearable but they have impact and connote quality even if it's only superficial marketing.

And lastly he's smart. Not so lost in his own ideas the way Chalayan can be, but smart enough to find or devise meaning to support his work. Smart enough to make the right decisions, to say the right things. Smart enough to know how to push the right buttons and pull the right levers to make the machine of fashion purr.

 

[WinstonH20]

First, I think he has really good taste. So despite whatever kooky idea he puts on the runway, it's all supported by an aesthetic universe that is covetable and inviting.

Second, he understands the concept of "cool," which is something Chalayan and Kokosolaki never really understood despite being more technically proficient designers. You can be the most amazingly skilled patternmaker in the world, but if you're just a little cheesy or naf, it will get you nowhere. Knowing what is or isn't cool is paramount and can't be stressed enough. It usually requires huge amounts of self-awareness which, ironically, is not cool.

Third, while far from being a technically-oriented designer, he appreciates craftsmanship and technique. Enough to direct a studio of more skilled designers. His ideas, regardless of whether of not they are good ideas, are always executed well. So they may not be salable or wearable but they have impact and connote quality even if it's only superficial marketing.

And lastly he's smart. Not so lost in his own ideas the way Chalayan can be, but smart enough to find or devise meaning to support his work. Smart enough to make the right decisions, to say the right things. Smart enough to know how to push the right buttons and pull the right levers to make the machine of fashion purr.

Brilliantly put.

Also, he really understands the power of marketing a personal narrative around his brands (JW and Loewe). In fact, I would say he is the best marketer in fashion at the moment. He masterfully uses the likes of Jamie Hawkesworth, Meisel, Sims, Tyler Mitchell etc. along with talents like M/M Paris and Benjamin Bruno to really sell a unique and tight narrative around each collection, fragrance, collab etc. The work these photographers produce for JW and Loewe is unlike what they do anywhere else and it makes it all the more special. Regardless of what I think about the merchandise or the actual images, there's no doubt that Anderson's personal tastes and "vision" (for better or worse) pervades each campaign and other piece of marketing and makes his brands feel more exclusive (see "luxurious") as a result.

In a way, Anderson really is emblematic of the triumph of marketing over merchandise in the current era of fashion, again for better or worse. This, along with all the reasons listed by @Mutterlein above, particularly his good taste, is what separates him from the rest of the pack and gives him the X-factor that puts him on the A-list of contemporary designers.

Oh, and most importantly, he manages to balance his personal sensibilities with the ability to create clothes that actually sell. No easy feat and crucial to the success of any designer in the current era.

 

[bc collector]

I am still failing to see the "it" about him that would justify his place among the 'big' designers of today, or even above some of his London predecessors from the wave before like Hussein Chalayan, Sophia Kokosalaki etc.

One has to acknowledge it, he's smart. He knows how to play the game of marketing and fluff up a myth around his brand.
But, most of all, he was lucky, unlike Chalayan or Kokosalaki or many others @tricotineacetat could have named: he happens to work in the most creatively depleted era that many of us can remember, he has practically no competition in the... let's call it avant-garde segment, everything is so bloody commercial that he naturally stands out from the rest.
But, Lord, put him in the same league as Nicholas, Lee or Miuccia: NO NO NO (in a Thatcher-like fashion).

I still do not know what, in terms of clothes, his work stands for: maybe because, despite the fabulous technicians that @Mutterlein claims he can direct, his JW collections, in ten years, have shown very little development in terms of cut. If, after all this time, the best you can do is giving me a t-shirt with some wacko print on it or a basic tube of fabric with some weird (or surrealist, like his fans like to say) s**t stuck on top, well, Houston, we have a problem.
Stripped of the gimmicks, his designs are so basic that sometimes I do wonder if he just can't be bothered to do anything more complicated than a hoodie, because, in the end, that's what the mass of customers want. But in that case, let's just call him a marketer, although a very sophisticated one, and leave the term "designer" to more deserving figures. Even at Loewe, where at a certain point I kind of warmed up to his output (and where he certainly has a huge amount of know-how at his disposal), he now seems to be more keen on épater le bourgeois, than creating elegant, interesting, wearable clothes that adult people - and not just kids - want to wear (in the way la Sig.ra Miuccia, his first fashion crush, used to do).
He's a fabulous creative director, that's for sure, and it might be true that he's the type of professional that now the LVMH honchos want. But, we all know, they do not care about clothes, they do not understand clothes, and are easily impressed by anything that covers the bottom line.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

One has to acknowledge it, he's smart. He knows how to play the game of marketing and fluff up a myth around his brand.
But, most of all, he was lucky, unlike Chalayan or Kokosalaki or many others @tricotineacetat could have named: he happens to work in the most creatively depleted era that many of us can remember, he has practically no competition in the... let's call it avant-garde segment, everything is so bloody commercial that he naturally stands out from the rest.
But, Lord, put him in the same league as Nicholas, Lee or Miuccia: NO NO NO (in a Thatcher-like fashion).

I still do not know what, in terms of clothes, his work stands for: maybe because, despite the fabulous technicians that @Mutterlein claims he can direct, his JW collections, in ten years, have shown very little development in terms of cut. If, after all this time, the best you can do is giving me a t-shirt with some wacko print on it or a basic tube of fabric with some weird (or surrealist, like his fans like to say) s**t stuck on top, well, Houston, we have a problem.
Stripped of the gimmicks, his designs are so basic that sometimes I do wonder if he just can't be bothered to do anything more complicated than a hoodie, because, in the end, that's what the mass of customers want. But in that case, let's just call him a marketer, although a very sophisticated one, and leave the term "designer" to more deserving figures. Even at Loewe, where at a certain point I kind of warmed up to his output (and where he certainly has a huge amount of know-how at his disposal), he now seems to be more keen on épater le bourgeois, than creating elegant, interesting, wearable clothes that adult people - and not just kids - want to wear (in the way la Sig.ra Miuccia, his first fashion crush, used to do).
He's a fabulous creative director, that's for sure, and it might be true that he's the type of professional that now the LVMH honchos want. But, we all know, they do not care about clothes, they do not understand clothes, and are easily impressed by anything that covers the bottom line.

I find this assessment to be overly harsh, at least from what I have personally observed.

I think, for Loewe, he's done a lot of incredible, salable and real clothes that are relevant and vital in their intended circumstance. Not just flashy gimmicks or merch (although there is that, too). He also commands a bigger design team and a lot more talent for Loewe.

He'd be the first to admit that he's not a designer and that he relies heavily on his team.

But most designers who take the bow are conductors or creative managers who do little of the hands-on designing, at least not in the mythic way we tend to think of Balenciaga in his white coat pinning and adjusting on a mannequin. Or YSL and Lagerfeld who would sketch out the entire season themselves.

Anderson has design directors, senior designers, junior designers etc who he oversees and gives direction to. This is in fact how probably 95% of every design studio in the world works. It's as valid a way to work for Anderson as it is for everyone else. You already know this, I'm just restating it here so we don't get caught in a double standard.

Now, if we turn our attention to his eponymous label, I still think such an assessment is still a bit harsh.

If we look at what's available for purchase right now on his own site, it's a pretty good mix of pieces. Some with more design integrity than others but no greater or less in proportion than any other brand or designer.

And I think what is clear is a definite manner, sensibility and design language that he's cultivated throughout his career.

To be honest, I haven't bothered to look at his e-commerce in years and only did do so just now to get an informed opinion. I was pleasantly surprised.

Also, let's not hold it against him that he knows how to merchandise and market a product. Or has at least hired someone who does. Fashion doesn't run on dreams or passion. It runs on sales.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

This is maybe a better survey of his assortment:

New Arrivals | JW Anderson

 

[Machinegumm]

For the most part not my cup of tea, but he plays the game well. "One for them, one for me." Mixing the eye-catcher garments to create buzz with the easy-to-digest ones is not a groundbreaking concept, but it works.