JW Anderson FW21 Worships Plants and Pants
Juergen Teller lenses playful silhouettes and vegetable prints.
LOEWE creative director Jonathan Anderson values his eponymous label, JW Anderson, no less than his work for the Spanish luxury house, but the Irish designer has different approaches to creating for each. Thought LOEWE is playful, JW Anderson is downright whimsical, as evidenced by the Fall/Winter 2021 collection lensed and co-masterminded by stylist Benjamin Bruno and photographer Juergen Teller, the latter of whom provided offset hand-scribbled captions to the imagery.
Actor Sophie Okonedo stars alongside male models in the co-ed presentation, which blurs the lines of gender and presents a free-flowing apparel lineup. Inspired by Dutch still life paintings, Anderson’s cast totes vegetables and plants while swathed in garments printed with organic imagery. This cheery motif is matched by enormous sculptural trousers and deadstock shearling, which was dyed bold hues by hair stylist Anthony Turner.
Elsewhere, Anderson’s now-signature chain loafer reappears in new makeups while ever-desirable mohair sweaters are stitched with 3D radishes, tied with belts or laden with extra pockets. Reflective finishes enliven an otherwise subdued houndstooth trench coat, field jackets are extended into coats and shirts are interrupted by color-blocking and sizeable pleats, reworking the core structure of classic menswear with aplomb.
“Fashion-wise, this is a palate cleanser,” said Anderson in an accompanying letter. “By pushing a certain bluntness,a stark and conceptual look, I am somehow reviving the beginnings of JW Anderson, when I was presenting Men’s and Women’s, blurring divides. Juergen highlighted all of that: by playing with misplaced written captions paired with every image, he created a strange, amusing conceptual confusion. Bodies turn into living sculptures, aided by the clothing and the vegetables which are a presence throughout the images.”
Other recent Fall/Winter collections have been presented by Hed Mayner, UNDERCOVER and SANKUANZ.
