On a sweltering afternoon last June, Jonathan Anderson took over a former industrial warehouse on the outskirts of Milan to show his Spring/Summer 2023 menswear collection for his eponymous brand, JW Anderson. Outside, models lounged on plinths; inside, the collection shown was an idiosyncratic ‘crash’ of influences and elements, from Rembrandt self-portraits to bicycle frames. Later in the evening, he took over a neon-lit Milanese nightspot, Teatro Principe – previously the Discoteca Tropicana – where guests danced long into the morning.
It signalled the beginning of a more permanent relationship with the Italian city for the British designer, who is primarily associated with London – where he has traditionally shown his JW Anderson collections – and Paris, where Loewe holds its seasonal runway shows (Anderson is creative director of the Spanish luxury house alongside his own label). In January 2023, he returned to Milan to show his Autumn/Winter 2023 JW Anderson menswear collection at another warehouse space in the city; this week, he opens the doors to a store in the Quadrilatero – Milan’s traditional shopping district – which marks his first outside of London for the brand and second JW Anderson store overall (the Soho store opened in early 2020, just prior to the pandemic).
