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There is a sombre but powerful mood permeating London Fashion Week this season. The entirety of the week is dedicated to the memory of Dame Vivienne Westwood, whose remarkable life and career was celebrated in a (very chic) memorial service last Friday. Westwood’s role as an unapologetic fashion punk was astutely felt at JW Anderson’s Fall Winter ‘23 show, which debuted at the performing arts venue (and former rave hotspot) The Roundhouse in Camden last night. The collection was a collaboration between Anderson and the choreographer Michael Clark, himself a counter culture icon who has been dubbed “the David Bowie of dance”. It was clear this wasn’t your typical fashion show from the moment guests arrived on set—the runway was staged between large sculptures baring Clark’s aesthetic signatures: among them, the outline of a giant penis.
Anderson had been raiding Clark’s sizable archives in researching the collection, a process which ultimately led the Irish designer back to his own back catalogue. The end result is a collection that marries Clark’s genius with Anderson’s own: the greatest hits from the last 15 years of JW Anderson appeared for F/W ‘23, imaginatively reworked and modernised. I wanted something which was about how you kind of reconcile the past,” Anderson explained in an interview. “How do you deal with what you have done? Because ultimately the job of a designer is going through a series of rejections of things. And it was really nice to work out ways in which you could break everything. And maybe improve on them.”
References to Clark oscillated between the overt (tanks and oversized knits bearing the words ‘MICHAEL CLARK’ in vivid green) to the referential. A jumpsuit was inspired by a performance of Clark’s in which he performed wearing a plastic Tesco bag. Boxy vinyl tees referenced other pop art-inspired images that accompanied some of Clark’s most memorable shows. “At its core, this is a collection about fandom,” read Anderson’s show notes. “Fandom is a funny thing: completely personal, frequently irrational, often embarrassing.”
No doubt Anderson’s own fans feel the same way about him. Spotting some of the designer’s greatest hits was a reminder of just how important—and enduring—the JW Anderson brand is. Anderson’s work with Loewe is justifiably revered, but his namesake label should inspire just as much awe. Much like Clark and Westwood, Anderson is defining what it can mean to be British: bold, creative, and uncompromising.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 19: A model walks the runway at the JW Anderson show during London Fashion Week February 2023 on February 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/BFC/Getty Images)
