The deceptive minimalism of JW Anderson

«The purer the environment, the more fantastic the inner world», says director David Lynch in an interview with Charlie Rose from 2000. He argues that by eating the same meals for lunch and dinner over long periods of time (“tomato, tuna, feta, and olive oil for lunch, chicken and broccoli for dinner with a little soy sauce”), his mind can free itself from earthly concerns and travel better with imagination. So, even though the fashion and film worlds have known great artists famous for their genius as well as their excesses, there are rare cases where brilliance comes from sobriety. David Lynch is one example; JW Anderson, with his new SS25 show on the runway yesterday morning, has proven to be another. Presented at the Old Billingsgate Fish Market, the show gathered celebrities and prominent names from the fashion industry in a space that once served the working class. Here, the designer presented a collection based on four fundamental materials: cashmere, leather, silk, and sequins. Like water, earth, fire, and air, the elements that make up JW Anderson’s SS25 have demonstrated their indispensable strength. Imposing limits and staying grounded is, for brilliant creatives like Jonathan Anderson and Lynch, the only way to soar and reach artistic heights destined for the few.

Despite the challenge the Irish designer has taken on, which relates to the philosophy of “less is more”, this is not a minimalist collection at all. Starting from four simple fabrics, Anderson has truly cultivated a diverse range of styles and silhouettes, revisiting the menswear of SS25 while adding new ideas. The mini dresses are tiny and form-fitting, featuring trompe-l’oeil prints; the knitwear is large and thick, bringing back woven textures but paired with an excerpt from a design essay by critic Clive Bell. The show is a triumph of original forms, graphics that require a deep look to be understood, and alternations between softness and rigidity, joyfully dancing in an allegorical rhythm. Contrast has always been JW Anderson’s secret weapon, and once again he has made past style codes feel fresh and innovative: the loafer becomes a handbag, knitwear reveals legs up to the thigh, and odd combinations like cerulean blue and mustard yellow coexist harmoniously. Even the boots, with their uneven cut that reveals the instep, modernize the concept of jodhpurs, lengthening the models' legs.

In the past, JW Anderson’s shows were known for their "virality," achieved through eye-catching elements like the pigeon-shaped bag or the frog-shaped Willipets shoes, but here the designer wants the whole collection to be seen. The brand's stylistic codes are still all present, from trompe-l’oeil motifs to large blue and green bomber jackets, from marble skirts to the irony in artistic references, yet it seems that with this show, he has taken a new artistic direction: refined simplicity. With his feet firmly on the ground and equipped with only the essentials, the designer sharpens his aim, shoots farther than before, and hits the target: there are no marketing tricks, no famous faces on the runway, not even an accessory to excite the social media audience. As if he had pulled the chair from under all the fans of the brand's humorous ideas, Anderson told the importance of fashion’s fundamentals, laughing as always.