The Fast Fashion Grind
J.W. Anderson is probably the most hyped insider designer in the world at the moment: he certainly didn’t need the press attention that came from the announcement that he would be streaming his AW16 LC:M show on Grindr. But you don’t ever get the sense that he’s doing it for the column inches, as such. Streaming on the hook-up app was, rather, the most underground way to reach the most people, fast. Because the speed of fashion is something he relishes – not just designing for his own line but also for Loewe – in all its weird, conceptual, and shocking strangeness. And strangeness was in no shortage during Sunday’s presentation, where everything from fur gilets to semi translucent, cartoon print tops turned up.
Something Senseless
Saying backstage that “things don’t need to make sense”, Anderson was pretty happy to put his signature selection of the decidedly unconventional next to the gender-bending pieces for which he’s become known. This meant opening the show with a white peacoat featuring a large printed snail (a recurring collection motif, bizarrely), cream ribbed trousers with corset laced leg openings and a pair of branded, boxing-boot style shoes. Oh, and a thick, clear choker decorated with mirror ball circles. Next came a whole lot of tailored topcoats in metallic, silvery fabrics and blousons in shimmering blacks (there’s that snail again) all paired with matching trousers.
Life In Flux
Other J Dubz signatures appeared in the form of extra wide studded collars on a camel coat with Western detailing or tight-fitting sleeveless tops with baggy trousers. Perversely appealing were long-john looking knitted two pieces (like a snug jumper for the whole body) or a bin-bag black coat made up of exaggerated down panels. Forget just gender fluidity, this was a world in which everything, narrative, coherence and convention, were in flux: how else do you explain B-Movie ray gun prints and polka dot fur coats robbed of their arms cohabiting in the same collection? Anderson is certainly a brave designer, designing mostly for the brave.
