LFW SS19: JW Anderson

AT first glance, the models wearing JW Anderson’s LFW SS19 collection seemed piratical, with their gilt-looped headscarves and tall buckled boots. Mesh cut-outs and detailing called up sailors’ nets, and billowing-sleeved shirts and thick leather belt seemed straight out of Treasure Island.

JW Anderson LFW SS19 Mesh

However, as more designs were revealed, the headscarves lost their swashbuckling air, taking on a suggestion of bohemian rural aesthetic, an influence that designer Jonathan Anderson acknowledged as an important inspiration for this collection.

Anderson, celebrated for his amalgamation of menswear and womenswear and the resulting androgynous look, created for his SS19 show a collection that was undeniably feminine, but which nevertheless contradicted much that is considered classically ladylike while celebrating the effortlessly-untroubled air of the bohemian.

The bohemian aesthetic was particularly noticeable in the layering in each piece. Loose flowing silhouettes were created by skirts worn over trousers, shorter dresses over longer ones, and waterfall dresses with asymmetrical hems. These aspects of the show are classic elements of Anderson’s design, which often features layering, dropped hems and loose silhouettes to achieve a carefree femininity.

JW Anderson LFW SS19 Bib front

JW Anderson LFW SS19 Layering

An allusion to Victorian garden in the pieces added a very feminine air, as crochet and lace detailing and detailed scalloped bib fronts created a sense of ladylike delicacy. This sense was complemented by the detailed Victorian garden gates and black iron railings which made up the backdrop of the show, and the long golden key necklaces which most of the models wore, as though each guarded the access to a secret garden.

However, the collection was not uncomplicatedly feminine, with Anderson certainly playing upon his previous tendency to androgenise. Leather knee pads intimated masculine Victorian hunting gear, and many of the dresses were worn with Converse trainers. This nod to the JW Anderson’s collaboration with the show brand added to a carefree bohemian aesthetic, but simultaneously detracted from a conclusion of ubiquitous femininity.

JW Anderson LFW SS19 Knee Pads

JW Anderson LFW SS19 Shoulders

Colours were mostly neutral, with textures being the key player in the show, however even that was not left simple, as there was even more to this ambitious collection. Puffed shoulders, animal print and pops of bright colour called up ‘80s fashion, leaving guests admiring an aesthetical ambiguity, which felt very true to the JW Anderson brand.

by Hannah Valentine

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