Designer Profile: J.W Anderson

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One To Watch

My last designer profile was Omar Kashoura, and he has certainly continued to exceed himself during his fantastic installation at London Fashion Week in September. Moving on however, the designer I would like to make you all aware of is Mr Jonathan William Anderson. I’m certain that a lot of you will have heard of him, as he has burst onto the fashion scene to great fanfare, and has impressed over and over again.

Not always headed into a career in fashion, Anderson went to Washington DC in 2001 from his native Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, to pursue a career in acting. Whilst studying acting he became infatuated with the stage costumes, and it was because of this infatuation he moved to London in the same year to study menswear at London College of Fashion. He was also working as a stylist at the time, most notably for Rufus Wainwright – as if studying menswear at London College of Fashion wasn’t a big enough feat.

Anderson graduated in 2007 and proceeded to launch his first collection immediately, leading to his first appearance at London Fashion Week in the same year. He made his mark on the big stage with the use of real insects in his jewellery, an interesting yet creative vision which certainly garnered attention. His Autumn/Winter 2008 collection was inspired by Rasputin – the historic Russian mystic – leading to yet another creative and visionary collection. These two collections really put Anderson on the radar of the whole fashion world, with everyone eager to see what he came up with next. His Spring/Summer collection in 2009 was one of the most highly anticipated collections of recent times, and he has become a regular at the prestigious MAN showcase at London Fashion Week ever since.

The official J.W Anderson website describes his designs in the following way:

Combining sinister phenomena with a love of mystical characters in history and literature, the intensely dramatic aesthetics of J.W. Anderson have made him one of the most intriguing menswear designers in current British fashion.

I couldn’t agree more. Whether it be the slightly dark and mystical influences on each collection or the way in which he seems to create new and exciting takes on the menswear silhouette, something you can never call Anderson is safe or conventional. His creativeness does not stop there either – recently in the industry we have seen an influx of video and short films in order to promote collections and being one of the designers on the forefront of technology and modernity, J.W Anderson has produced his own. Take a look:

J.W Anderson Short Film

London Fashion Week 2010

Winner of Topman’s NEWGEN Men competition, J.W Anderson continues to excite. During fashion week this year, everyone was excitedly anticipating the Anderson show, and it couldn’t have come at a better time on a menswear day that seemed to underwhelm. The Anderson show raised the roof of the tent with an amazing collection, culminating in an amazing lazer-filled Pulp soundtrack conclusion. The collection consisted of loud playful prints, juxtaposing hard and soft, with floral prints giving an injection of beautiful colour. Rolled up militaristic soft toned trousers were also fantastic and very wearable, but my highlight of the collection would have to be the Swarovski toe-covered boots. I would LOVE a pair of those! Have a look at the show:

J.W Anderson Autumn/Winter 10 Collection

Below are a few looks from his current Autumn/Winter collection. I love the tartan prints which give it a Highland feel, suitable for adding some flair in the winter temperatures. The boots are also sublime throughout the collection and come at a time where their popularity is off the charts right now in men’s fashion:

J.W Anderson Autumn/Winter 10 Runway

Fashionbeans Picks:

There are very limited stockists of the J.W Anderson collection throughout the world so take a look at these collectors pieces we have shown below. They come in limited quantities so you have to be quick if you want to get your hands on one of the most sought after young British designers we have: