This collection marked the beginning of a new age for J.W. Anderson. No longer is his tenure at Loewe a musing on other people's work - an attempt to capture the season. It also feels like a real step on from his own label. Slight irreverent twists such as the use of rubber bands and industrial metal circles were still in use, but overall material choices felt much more sophisticated and artisan.
The Loewe woman was finally a woman. Forget the plastic trousers and silver tinsel, her new linear silhouette comprised of midi length trapeze skirts and softly bound waistlines. She walked with authority and grace. There were soft hessian shades and textures - Siena brown, olive, crisp white and Adriatic blue. Gaudy gold chains, handbag shaped charms, arm cuffs, and chokers chimed in with the idea of an ancient archaeological dig. Embroidered masks on the fronts of dresses and tops echoed the idea of indigenous finds. Tan leather patches appeared as breastplate detailing on the busts of khaki coloured coats and leather corsets were embellished with gold leaf. There was an Aztec warrior vibe to these full-skirted looks, yet they felt utterly grounded in the vernacular of chic. Beaten copper circle necklaces were layered over deep tweed pieces and a heat relief in gold metallic was applied to camel jersey. The slouchy Joyce bag mirrored the ruched effects of fabrics - whilst the Amazona bag looked strong in shredded shearling.
The counterpoint in the collection came in the form of cartoonish cat bags - already previewed on posters around Paris fashion week – which were worn around the neck like sacred trinkets. Even in Anderson’s new grown up world, there is still time for play – and it didn’t distract from the sophistication. It did remind one of how Miuccia Prada furnished her girls with secret diaries attached to chokers, but this felt more ancient than that. The man-made and the irreverent also turned up in one look - a glittery sci-fi film t-shirt and immaculately striped fur coat felt more in line with today's mish-mash styling. It really helped punctuate the collection – and broke up the ongoing flow of organic shades and fabric.
The show ended on a high note. An olive coloured parka jacket took things to the street whilst macramé dresses and ancient motifs took things to a cocktail party in the pyramids. A peacock blue tailored look in carpet thick tweed looked like the new glamorous, and a silver circle embellished dress twinkled like the ancient relic one always dreams of finding.
Up until now, the audience had been listening to the sounds of a rhythmic beat layered over an audio recording of a woman's voice. Her series of soothing commands had included, 'Focus your attention on your breathing.' It transpired half way through that we were listening to a recording of a hypnotherapy session on Harley Street. The audience tittered with laughter half way through the show, as the woman asked, 'Now, are you ready to start your life as a non smoker?' We all thought we had been having a serene Zen moment – but a low brow irreverent under cut reminded us that these were J.W. Anderson's designs we were looking at. As we stood up to leave, we were all under his spell.
