Jonathan William Anderson commonly known J W Anderson is one of the most sought after young designer who is celebrated for his provocative design sense. Born in a small Irish town 31 year old Jonathan is extremely ambitious, which he believes is a quality he inherited from his father Willie Anderson who was a renowned Rugby player. He aspired to become an actor but at the age 18 he enrolled into London college of fashion after which he landed his first job in fashion as an assistant to Prada stylist Manuela Pavesi as a window dresser. Anderson launched JW Anderson as a menswear label in 2008,three years after graduating the womenswear was added two years later, in 2010. He believes there are two Andersons. JW Anderson, designer of London’s hottest label and Jonathan Anderson who is the designer of Loewe.
Anderson is a boy next door who has a fidgety aura, he doesn’t sound or look like a designer. He desires to scale Loewe at an unbelievable pace, he took a year out before doing a collection, when he started out at Loewe. He wanted to work down to the basic fundamentals, the pencils, the door handles, the style of the press release, the stone of the buildings, the choice of photographer etc. Anderson planned on wiping out the entire old image of the brand and start afresh in a manner that the old image didn’t ever exist. He strongly believes that brands should evolve at the same pace of the world around it. Being satisfied by big accomplishments like designing for the royal family or celebrities can dampen ones creative fire. He gives a 100% in his work holding back nothing, which sometimes makes him come across as arrogant and cocky. He has designed hugely successful collections in collaboration with some very big names in the industry like Versace and Topshop. Anderson’s designs are often gender ambiguous, he feels that we are finally in an era where there is more fluidity in gender.