A return to craftsmanship was a theme explored during the menswear day at London Fashion Week. It was there in JW Anderson’s 9am show, which testament to his highly acclaimed womenswear showing earlier in the week...
A return to craftsmanship was a theme explored during the menswear day at London Fashion Week. It was there in JW Anderson’s 9am show, which testament to his highly acclaimed womenswear showing earlier in the week, was packed to the rafters with assorted press and buyers crowding through the windows of the Portico Rooms looking in. “Craft goes machine” was the overarching theme this season – with Anderson seeking to exploit the tension between the artisanal and the super-modern: “It was about pushing together these two opposites – something painstakingly handmade and contrasting it with something done by machine.” He continued, “I wanted something hyperminimal and chic but it still has that collage feel to it – I like putting a lot of different elements together.” So crochet fabric was made into tops, intricate leatherwork was linked together and attached to trousers and he continued his gender-bending explorations with cardigans turned into skirts for men. If that’s a lot to digest for a menswear show, Anderson managed to meld these disparate disciplines and influences together into a sharp, coherent collection. There were some nods to the past, noticeably Balenciaga and Raf Simons, but Jonathan William Anderson is fast establishing himself as a designer who seems uncannily attuned to the wants and desires of the cool girl and boy on the street.
Lou Dalton has impeccable craftsmanship – this we know. But if some of her past presentations have appeared a little subdued, she kicked it up a notch this season with a punchy showing soundtracked by the 80’s disco sounds of Horse Meat Disco and hints of Swarovski crystals enlivening her streamlined sportswear. “It was about turning something quite hard into something quite beautiful,” Dalton told AnOther backstage, referencing the Miner’s strike of 1984 and the seemingly opposite influence of Matthew Bourne’s all-male Swan Lake. That come through most clearly in a delicately ruffled white denim – “We distressed it to make it look like a feather and keep it a little more robust. The collection was all about a sense of grace and a sense of beauty within and allowing it to come out.”
Text by Kin Woo
