JW Anderson

JW Anderson

Jonathan Anderson, a Northern Irish designer who trained at London College of Fashion and worked as a visual merchandiser at Prada, founded JW Anderson in London in 2008. The label made its name on a deliberate blur between menswear and womenswear silhouettes, an idea Anderson later called a shared wardrobe, and it built a cult following well before he was named creative director of Loewe in 2013.

Bags

Accessories are actually how this label first got noticed, back when Anderson's early collections were still menswear only and the bags did a lot of the talking. Expect the same sculptural, slightly odd instinct that made his accessories a draw at Loewe, just filtered through his own house's more experimental register.

Tops and shirting

Shirting is where JW Anderson's menswear-first origins are easiest to trace, even on pieces cut for women. The label started as a menswear line in 2008 and only added womenswear two years later, and that cross-pollination still shapes how a shirt is built here.

Knitwear

Knitwear tends to carry the label's more overt shape experiments, the cropped proportions and unexpected volumes that built Anderson's reputation for thought-provoking silhouettes. It reads as intellectual without losing the ability to actually be worn.

Skirts

Skirts show the gender cross-pollination Anderson has built the brand around most literally, borrowing proportions that don't sit neatly in a traditional womenswear category. It is a quieter version of the same instinct that got him noticed as a menswear designer for dresses on men.

Shoes

Footwear follows the same sculptural logic as the bags, unsurprising given how much attention Anderson's accessories work earned him before Loewe came calling. These pieces tend to prioritize a strong silhouette over safety.

Dresses

Dresses are a newer part of the label's story relative to its menswear beginnings, but they carry the same appetite for odd proportion and unexpected cuts. It is womenswear built by someone who spent his first two years designing only for men.

Also in the edit

A handful of pieces that round out the current assortment outside the main categories above. They still carry the label's signature strangeness, the same appetite for odd proportion that made Anderson's name before Loewe or Dior ever entered the conversation, just delivered in smaller doses.

More from the collection

The rest of what is currently available from JW Anderson, spanning the full breadth of the house beyond the categories singled out above. A useful view of where the label is putting its energy this season.

Our honest take

JW Anderson's whole appeal was always the friction between menswear and womenswear, and even now that Anderson has taken his talents to Dior, the house he actually founded is still the place where that idea gets tested first. The accessories remain the surest bet, since that is where his reputation was built before anyone was paying attention.