Fashion is filled with wide-eyed kids who once dreamt of glamour and a life beyond the realms of TV dinners and snug house robes. But fashion is funny in its curiosity for the mundane. Nostalgia has proven a boundless source of inspiration across design for the last decade, and it’s anyone’s guesses what new ‘ugly’ trend will feel the glow of the spotlight once again. But while some may chalk it up to a grim commentary of a creatively-strained generation, Jonathan Anderson explores this interplay of the personal and the trending with his trademark wit and fresh eye.
Debuting his Fall 2024 collection for JW Anderson at London Fashion Week, the Irish-born designer proved his keen eye for concept-led design that seemed to play on cheesy suburban tropes. From comically large bundles of yarn knitted into skirt and top sets, preppy athletic uniforms reimagined in chenille, glammed-up slippers and English tweeds.
Prompting a frisson of excited coos, models stepped onto the runway in curly grey bobs—which were, as we later found out, hats—and slicked-back pixie cuts. They paired perfectly with nostalgic layered undergarments, cosy knits and supersized overcoats, all iterations of daggy household staples in suburbia that Anderson joked backstage would likely become the pinnacle of cool in no time.
What should be noted is that in calling on these themes, Anderson doesn’t seek to mock or crassly appropriate from the working class but instead offers a different take on nostalgia that doesn’t simply regurgitate the past but calls on the memories and feelings of particular contexts. Inspired by Last of the Summer Wine, an institution of British comedy that spanned almost four decades, this season posits a stylish rewrite of the traditionally “pragmatic” and “grotesque”, helping them jump the queue in the trend cycle.
Each look told a story of its own, inviting the viewer to get lost in its potential without getting too needlessly abstract. Fashion in the age of the algorithm can feel all too formulaic. But luckily, we still have visionaries like Anderson to keep the light alive.
This story first appeared on GRAZIA International.