Continuing with a format established several seasons ago, JW Anderson presented its Women’s Autumn Winter 2021 collection in the form of nineteen double-sided posters and a video message from the brand’s Founder and Creative Director Jonathan Anderson.

The presentation took on a new dimension this season with what Jonathan described as one of “the most personal projects I have ever done,” a curation and juxtaposition of his passions: art and fashion. Alongside the nineteen looks of the Women’s Autumn Winter collection are images of two artists and their works, including limited-edition blankets produced in collaboration with Jonathan and JW Anderson.

Jonathan first met artist and ceramicist Dame Magdalene Odundo while curating the Disobedient Bodies exhibition for the Hepworth Wakefield in 2017. Then in June 2020, during a brief relaxation of lockdown rules in the UK, Jonathan saw the work of American-born artist Shawanda Corbett at the Corvi-Mora gallery in London. Both artists agreed to collaborate with JW Anderson to create a series of limited-edition blankets based on three works each, for a total of six unique styles.

Portraits of Magdalene and Shawanda, images of their ceramics, the blanket collaboration and the JW Anderson collection are all presented simultaneously in sixty-one images shot by Juergen Teller. The images inhabit nineteen B1 posters curated deliberately by Jonathan and Juergen and wrapped in a personal letter by Jonathan.

For Jonathan the collection was an attempt to “boil everything down to beauty, silhouette and pose.” It is an exploration of volume, a recurring theme in JW Anderson womenswear collections, with a focus on totemic structures. Knitwear expands into cocooning shapes. The everyday becomes surreal in prints on trousers and tops. The body, grounded on sturdy boots with chain embellishment, is celebrated as a vessel. Like the art and the images, the fashion has been curated.

In addition to his personal letter Jonathan recorded a video message where he discusses his relationship with the artists, the process of creating the collaboration and the collection, the excitement of working with Juergen Teller once again and how he sees the future of fashion. 

The JW Anderson Limited Edition artist blankets will be available in two editions. Pre-orders of the hand-knit editions (limited production of 10 per art work; 40 total) are available now by contacting the JW Anderson London client team via JWAnderson.com. The woven editions (limited production of 60 per art work; 120 total) will be available in Fall 2021 exclusively via Net-a-Porter and JWAnderson.com. Pricing and additional details available upon request.