 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 2008; 17 years ago (2008) |
| Founder | Jonathan Anderson |
| Headquarters | London ,United Kingdom |
Number of locations | 4 stores worldwide (2025)[1] |
Key people | Jonathan Anderson (creative director) |
| Products | Luxury goods |
| Owner | LVMH (minority stake) |
| Website | jwanderson |
JW Anderson is aUKfashion label, founded byJonathan Anderson.
Originally fromMagherafelt inNorthern Ireland, Anderson established JW Anderson in London in 2008. The brand initially focused on menswear, before moving into womenswear in 2010. From 2012 onwards, the brand and its designer have collaborated with a number of retail fashion brands, most notablyTopshop,Versace, andUniqlo, withLVMH acquiring a minority stake in the brand in 2013.
JW Anderson won both men's and women's brand of the year atBritish Fashion Council'sThe Fashion Awards in 2015, the first brand to pick up both awards in the same year.[2]
Jonathan Anderson graduated from theLondon College of Fashion, before initially pursuing a career in acting. While working at theStudio Theatre inWashington D.C., he became interested in costume design and went on to study a degree in menswear design, graduating in 2005.[3] He worked as visual merchandiser atPrada, working alongside the designer, Manuela Pavesi. Anderson then moved toLondon to establish his eponymous label in 2008.[3][4]
JW Anderson launched a menswear line in 2008. It later introduced a womenswear line for autumn 2010. During the same year, JW Anderson received sponsorship from theBritish Fashion Council committee, presenting their first catwalk collection atLondon Fashion Week.[5] JW Anderson secured its second sponsorship from the British Fashion Council in 2011, before winning the Emerging Talent Award in 2012.
JW Anderson became a more widely known brand in Britain after Jonathan Anderson collaborated withTopshop in 2012 creating a limited edition collection of clothing and accessories.[6]Vogue covered the brand's spring/summer collection that same year, including paisley-print daywear pyjamas, which sold out shortly after launch.[7][8] During London Fashion Week in 2012, JW Anderson announced it was to host its first menswear-dedicated fashion week show.[6] JW Anderson and Topshop collaborated again in early 2013.[9][10]
In June 2013, Jonathan Anderson showcased his first collection forVersace. The collection was for Versace's diffusion line, Versus, with Anderson as the line's relaunch designer. Part of Jonathan Anderson's focus as a designer for JW Anderson was on unisex clothes, and he carried this fashion ethos with him to Versace.[11][12] It was also rumoured at the same time thatLVMH were considering Anderson for the role of creative director atLouis Vuitton.[13] It was announced in September 2013 that LVMH had acquired a minority stake in JW Anderson.[14] As part of the deal, Anderson was announced as creative director of the Spanish fashion house,Loewe.[15]
JW Anderson gave exclusive livestreaming rights to the queer dating appGrindr for their Autumn/Winter 2016 fashion show.[16] Users of the app were given a link to the livestream in their inboxes, which they opened in their phone or tablet browsers.[16] The show was played on a loop for twenty-four hours after it was completed.[17]
Taking inspiration from theOmega Workshops, JW Anderson announced it would be launching its own workshops inShoreditch,London.[18] Formerly known as the JW Anderson Workshops, it was created to merge an exhibition experience within a store.[19]
The workshops housed a number of collections and collaborations throughout 2016, including withA$AP Rocky,[18]M/M Paris,[20]Printed Matter, Inc.,[21]Mackintosh,[22][23] Giles Round,[24] and photographersJamie Hawkesworth,[25] Ian David Baker,[26] andAlasdair McLellan.[27]
The JW Anderson Workshops also co-released a book with Spanish publisherLuis Venegas in 2016.[28]
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JW Anderson announced their first exhibition in September 2016,Disobedient Bodies atThe Hepworth Wakefield from March to June 2017.[29] The show aimed to create discussion on the theme of the body,[30] specifically how each body part can disobey the body. More than 100 works were presented at the exhibition, includingIssey Miyake andYves Saint Laurent.[29]
In 2020, JW Anderson made theknitting pattern pattern for arainbowcardigan musicianHarry Styles wore in rehearsals for theToday Show available to the public after knitting it became aDIY challenge onTikTok.[31] Later that year, it was acquired by theVictoria and Albert Museum as an item of cultural importance related to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[32]
In 2015, JW Anderson underJonathan Anderson became the first brand to win both Menswear Designer of The Year and Womenswear Designer of the Year awards atThe Fashion Awards.[2]
| Award | Year | Recipient(s) | Category | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fashion Awards | 2012 | JW Anderson | Emerging Talent Award - Ready-To-Wear | [33] |
| 2013 | JW Anderson | New Establishment Designer of The Year | ||
| 2014 | JW Anderson | Menswear Designer of The Year | ||
| 2015 | JW Anderson | Menswear Designer of The Year | ||
| JW Anderson | Womenswear Designer of The Year | |||
| 2017 | Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson | British Designer of The Year - Womenswear |