JW Anderson FW23 Menswear Collection

JW Anderson FW23 Menswear Milan Fashion Week: “It’s a very raw state of mind. That’s what I wanted for this collection. The sweater is the sweater, the trouser is the trouser, the jacket is the jacket. There’s no kind of over-explanation in the look. It’s working with tensions; this idea that the bag becomes the shoe, the shoe becomes the bag. The idea that you’re committed to something. There’s an idea of three colors working together — the blue, the yellow, and the brown — there’s something about color therapy somehow.

I liked the idea of looking at subversion. Especially in London, especially in the ’70s and ’80s, and looking at great masters like [Vivienne] Westwood… I think we shouldn’t be scared of subversion. I think it’s more about not shaming, it’s ownership. Working in fashion we get so scared. I think it should be about a constructive dialogue — I love menswear and I can’t do what I do without working with a menswear wardrobe because I feel like it helps me contradict myself.

[On the topic of Wellipets], I was googling and suddenly they came back up again. I was pestering them on the phone for weeks to see if we could [work together]. Something about them reminds me of my childhood, they were such a thing to have. They were the “trainer” as a child. It is the only surrealist moment in the collection which, ultimately, is like a cassette player. It’s an icon of design, it’s in the design museum and in every institution, and I think it symbolizes something. They were worn in better days with our Royal Family.

I think of fun. As we reduce — because I think we’re heading into a season of reduction — and strip back, I also think that if we still don’t have humor I think it’s hard. It’s about connecting to something. That’s what JW Anderson is; our accessories are about a cultural reference.” - JW ANDERSON

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