LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JW Anderson’s home base at the Yeomanry House was laden with a violet crystal-like tapestry fabricated from recycled tires, hinting at the post-apocalyptic show that was near to result. Ray Bradbury’s “There will come soft rains” inmediately rang to mind depicting a world dropped at ruins by Man. During a chat backstage, Anderson mentioned that the “idea felt a little bit apocalyptic…a bit George Orwell”, light the poem that opened the show. Anderson switched his usual Ratatat-style discordant track for a recording of “The Imperfect List” by Big Hard Excellent Fish narrated by Josie Jones — the chilling sobering track that used to open each Morrissey concert. The words to the poem read, “scouse impersonator. silly pathetic girlies. silly pathetic girlies. silly pathetic woman. macho dickhead. Bonnie langford. neighbours. lost keys. phoney friend. ungrateful accusing mate. the royal family. stock aitken & waterman. smiling judas.”
The choice of track was maybe a lyric to Anderson’s explorations of the proletariat. However this season saw lots of additional transgression than the same old understood statement of sophistication systems. It went very futuristic. JW Anderson addes that he was researching into the thought of “pataphysics” pioneered by French author Alfred Jarry, who brought difference to the realm of ancient science. This wanted to project what lies far, far ahead explains the reprise of 70’s retrofuture shapes with tailored bell-bottom trousers, ribbed knits, pique wing collar, half-zip collared sweaters, waxy nappa animal skin overclothes and a spectrum of brown hues. Save for the oversized, stereo-like buttons that lined the coats — the end result of a collaboration with craftsman Lucy Rie — the concepts that featured down the runway today felt sort of a hyper-evolved direction for Anderson.
Perhaps it’s not far-fetched at all that Anderson were to describe his show as “pataphysical” because what Alfred Jarry did for science, what Nietzsche did for philosophy, is what Anderson continues to do with fashion.
