“Irrational clothing” is as good a descriptor as any for T-shirts outfitted with colorful, inflated air bags at the hem, a necktie nearly as long and thick as a table runner, hand-knit cardigans resembling brick row houses, and a belt equipped with a semicircular rack for cashmere fabric samples.
All of these figured on the JW Anderson runway in Milan, the show living up to the trippy, “spaced out” vibe designer Jonathan Anderson had described at a press conference earlier in the day.
“It’s very ‘Twilight Zone’ melancholic,” he said, referring to his show set — a vast, bright space decked out with hundreds of suspended lightbulbs — and a collection strong on supersized shapes, bouncy and spongey textures, and wry humor.
The designer doubled down on his conviction that fashion should be a vessel for personal expression, escape, and pushing boundaries of gender and wearing occasions.
Anderson raised many eyebrows early in his career when he proposed frilly shorts for men, which the Daily Mail crowned as “the stupidest outfit” at men’s fashion week for fall 2013.
He’s getting his just deserts. Having recently attended the Primavera Sound music festival in Barcelona, Spain, Anderson was dazzled by the daring and creative outfits on display, including skimpy lingerie tops worn by men of all shapes and sizes.
“The experimentation with clothing among younger generations is incredible,” he enthused. “The eye has changed within menswear and within womenswear… It’s not just about the luxury brands. It’s about codes, identities, archetypes.”
You could draw a direct line from Primavera to the V-neck sweaters trimmed with silicon lace, but gosh knows where the idea came from for the sagging satin pouches, like deflated balloons, clinging to trim topcoats, or ginormous cardigans coarsely knitted with a 3D waffle texture.
No matter: All were a delight to watch.
Humor was there in the new Moccasin bag, directly inspired by the penny loafer, and his handsome leather biker jackets, denim vests and bomber jackets whose hems curved forward, bringing to mind elbow pasta.
Anderson also unveiled an unexpected collaboration with Guinness, splashing elaborate pearl embroideries on sweaters and sweatshirts, some printed with a smiling moon face carved out in the beer head, an image lifted from early advertising.
The capsule drops in November, and if you wear one of these conversation-starters down the pub, you might just score a free pint.