London was at its very best this morning as guests were greeted by glorious sunlight on the north bank of the river Thames for JW Anderson’s SS25 show. Held at Old Billingsgate with a backdrop of Tower Bridge, during the Victorian era the space was home to the world’s largest fish market – though there wasn’t much fishy about the collection today. If you weren’t able to make it down to the river in time – or your invite got lost in the post – scroll down for everything you need to know about Anderson’s latest show.
Known for drawing one of the most high-profile crowds of the week, arrivals included former Dazed cover star Normani, who jumped out of her seat to greet James Blake with a hug, which was quite lovely. As well as original “London Boy” Joe Alwyn, musician Obongjayar, and actress Kaya Scodelario turning up for the show, Supacell’s Tosin Cole, supermodel Alva Claire and Oasis offspring Lennon Gallagher were also sitting front row. And though our current cover star Central Cee attended Skepta’s Mains show yesterday evening, luckily he wasn’t anywhere to be seen today as ex-girlfriend Madeline Argy strode into the JW show this morning.
Like most J Dubs shows, the elusive Northern Irish designer doesn’t give much away before the crowd descends on the space. This season, things were no different, but Anderson did drop a cryptic teaser on Instagram earlier in the week. The post, featuring illegible upside down lettering, revealed itself this morning to be a quote from critic Clive Bell’s groundbreaking book, Art. “In art the only important distinction is the distinction between good art and bad,” reads a quote from the book’s second chapter, Simplification and Design.
As well as a celebrated critic and theorist, Bell was also brother-in-law to Virginia Woolf, and famously responsible for the theory of Significant Form, the concept that for art to be deemed “good” it must trigger an emotional response from the viewer.
For AW24, Anderson was feeling nostalgic for his nan, and sent a string of models down the runway in curly grey wigs and comfortable, mottled knitwear. This season, however, the designer seems to have abandoned that endeavour and instead went on the hunt for eternal youth – soundtracked appropriately by the alt-synths of Grimes. Themes of adolescence were first telegraphed in the opening set of three minidresses, one with trompe-l’oeil hoodie strings and a zip, another appropriately bedazzled in going-out-sequins. Leather dresses with circular disc skirts clearly took cues from the silhouettes of young ballerinas, while a bulkier, structured version of the 00s bubble skirt – a current Gen Z fave – also appeared as a dress in both black and white silk.
While in previous seasons Anderson has taken a strong image and run with it – see goldfish bowls, the movie Eyes Wide Shut, or phallic, Michael Clark crudity – this season felt subtler and less in-your-face, with a greater focus on craft and simplicity, which makes sense considering Bell’s quote from Art. Nods to previous collections were echoed throughout, from optical illusion fastenings and not-really-there pockets, to liquid dresses, buttery leather and outsized Argyle knits. And to hammer the point of simplicity home, the entire collection was made from just four materials – cashmere, leather, silk and sequins.
Though despite that, there was still a heavy dollop of JW’s typical absurdity. Larger than life woven knits came marching down the runway, like fabric swatches plucked directly from the loom of giants. Surprisingly, Anderson also took us on a brief detour back to school days in the early 2010s with paisley print dresses. Shredded panelled vests also swished their way along the catwalk, harking back to a time long before Bell and his Bloomsbury Group accomplices, but rather to 16th century slashing – a technique formed of small cuts in the fabric that allow for a contrasting material to peek through, in this case, a page of Bell’s writing. The quotes themselves appeared a total of three times throughout the show: firstly via the slashing, secondly printed monochromatically over a silk top, and thirdly, closing the show on a silk mini-dress.
Backstage afterwards, Anderson expanded on his inclusion of the quotes in the show. “It was a review by Clive Bell on the idea of art and design and how they sit together,” he explained. “Do they sit together? Should they be mixed? It’s not really about the text, it’s more about the idea of taking a blank page and starting afresh. Type on a white sheet of paper is such a graphic thing. It’s more about the modernity of text on a white page.”
