On the eve of the Autumn Winter 2021 collection, as life sized posters began to arrive on doorsteps, we asked Jonathan about creativity, the inspiration for his latest work, and how he raises his spirits.
Continued below:
JVBCOM: Can you sit down and have ideas on demand or is that an interior process in solitude?
JW Anderson: I think creativity and inspiration, for me, come from so many different places. It’s really about a process and about exploring and staying curious.
JVBCOM: What inspired your show in a box concept?
JWA: I think what’s inspired sending the boxes and posters and books out to people over the last year is ultimately, it is being dictated by the situation we’re in. But I think actually through the restraint of this it’s actually forced me to come up with really new methods. I actually enjoy even more because I think it kind of helps me to think outside the box and really kind of focus on the clothing.
JVBCOM: What was the first idea that sparked the collection?
JWA: The collection really sits with the collaboration with Magdalene and Shawanda. For me this season it felt more like a project, or a new way of presenting the fashion. Something beyond just presenting a collection. I first had the idea of working with Magdalene after being with her in her studio and looking at some of her graphic work. She has this piece called Cat Walk that she did when she was in Belfast and it all just seemed like such an unlikely coincidence I knew I wanted to do something.
JVBCOM: What themes are you inviting us to explore?
JWA: With this new collection. I’m kind of inviting the audience into kind of a curated space and in a weird way, like a door onto a new creative output. I’m looking at the idea of volume, silhouette experimentation and on the art of collaboration.
JVBCOM: Did you have a persona, a woman in mind or was it more abstract?
JWA: With this season it was more abstract. It was about looking at new ways of looking at fashion and creativity and I think working with Juergen really brought that out as well.
JVBCOM: Do you have a favorite piece?
JWA: I hate to say favorite but I do really love the oversized knitted pieces that balloon out into sculptural volumes. They are kind of suspended from the shoulders. I really love those.
JVBCOM: Are you finding a second lockdown different this time around?
JWA: Different? Maybe. But sometimes it feels more difficult just because it feels much longer.
JVBCOM: What do you do when you are feeling stuck, or a bit down?
JWA: I’ve been reading a lot lately and looking at art in books and online. What else can we do these days?
