Everyone’s agreed (unless they’re mad), it’s time to slow up the pace of fashion and clear away some of the bewildering confusions that have grown up around it. Jonathan Anderson took a commonsense step in that direction—as of today, he’s united his women’s and men’s collections, and, twice a year, will be presenting them together. It’s going to be Spring and Fall, like it always used to be. “There will be six drops into stores: two men’s, four women’s. I wanted to reconfigure the entire way we do things,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to develop small collections. It’s time to pare back and start again.”
On his runway, there was an underlying sense of getting out of the house a bit more. Anderson was generally thinking about how to make interesting fashion that’s applicable to everyday living and his collection felt a bit outdoorsy. One of Anderson’s interests is contemporary art. This time, he curated a centerpiece of installations by Martin Belou—sculptural tubes sprouting live, growing fungi. A contemplation, perhaps, on the creative wonders of the natural world. So, everyone, relax!
He had almost everything covered, from upgraded utilitywear to shirred taffeta dresses. Canvas handkerchief-hem skirts had a touch of Girl Scout–camping about them for girls; for boys, it was a case of softened-up Army/Navy militaria. Anderson is very good at isolating items and showing how they can be worn together in an offhand way. He’s a master of the fashion power sweater: cable-knits with crenelated hems and matching scarves, crewnecks with bunny-eared pom-poms for boys, or Army green ribbed hoodies with puffy sleeve details for girls. And so on. Grounded by his latest collaboration with Converse and an array of chunky leather ankle boots, it all looked as if the models could walk off into the street, turn heads, but not be pointed at as freaks. Just enough fashion, but not too much. That felt it hit the mark of the times.
