Jonathan Anderson: A more positive take on the Pandemic

After tuning in to Business of fashion’s Tim Blanks speak with Jonathan Anderson yesterday, I left feeling inspired. His positive take on the current pandemic was something to seriously think about to allow ourselves to project our feelings in to the future of the fashion industry, and our own personal lives. Tim Blanks interviewed beautifully allowing for deep scope in to the designer’s current mindset and ponderings that he’s had these past weeks whilst he was busy spring cleaning his house from top to bottom.

Back to the beginning.

Finding ourselves back at the beginning of our journey is an important idea to take from our current situation according to Anderson, as he states wanting to ‘live in a white box’ after spending more time in his London home as opposed to travelling back and forth from Paris. He questions ‘why do I have these things?’ as he found himself cleaning every drawer and surface in his house which made him realise that going back to the beginning, picturing a blank page, is the best thing we can do right now. Looking at people who inspire us and motivate us is a main idea that he speaks about, not only in his own line of work, but all around him. This idea further develops in to the discussion of ‘divas can no longer exist’. There’s no room for it. As Tim Blanks correctly states, ‘the fashion industry developed and nurtured this idea’ by creating this realm of secrecy and ideology that the creative director is a shining beacon, but finally, authenticity and sustainability (two very key topics already being thrown around pre-pandemic) are finally carrying some weight. People being true to themselves and what they believe is now being understood as they are left with nowhere to hide.

Digestion.

Only a few weeks before a lockdown was imposed we saw catwalks filled with designer’s new collections. Anderson made it clear that he feels like these ‘didn’t matter’. We moved on so quickly and were overwhelmed with what was happening that they simply didn’t matter – but is this a new idea or have we been overconsumed for some time now? Anderson spoke about how important it is to now be in the moment. Even after we are back to ‘normality’, he stated that it won’t be about the amount of collections we do (something that he didn’t feel was overworking him anyway), but having time to be able to process what has been done. Giving journalists and seamstress’ the time to digest what they’re seeing and doing – this is a key motif and something that he already mentioned. Time. Having the time to respond to collections in a more thought processed and emotional way is vital in truly understanding the work and hours that go in to fashion shows. As Anderson states, ‘it’s not about loving or hating’ the collections ‘it’s about digesting them’. It seems as though JW Anderson and Loewe may be taking a more organic approach to producing collections in the future as he questions ‘what is right for me, for my business?’

What is your hope for fashion? [Asked by Tim Blanks]

Blanks raises the idea of the hopefulness we have for the fashion industry. A very simple response that Anderson gives proves to the most important note to take from this – ‘the idea of all people’. He notes early on in the conversation how aware he now is of his responsibility for everyone in his business, and how without them he wouldn’t exist. Within the Loewe brand, Anderson already ensures that the craftsman’s and artisans involved are mentioned at the end of every look-book, a true testament to how he wants everyone to be appreciated. He speaks of when things are made, there is a whole ocean of people involved so it is crucial that they won’t disappear during this time.

A second note from his response to this question is being able to come out of this understanding what people want and need based on two factors – environment and people. To come out of this and not react to the environments way of telling us to slow down would be idiotic, but Anderson highlights the importance of understanding the balance of this with people. Being transparent with consumers will allow them to understand why you are doing something the way you are – evoking the idea of empathy towards the brand.

The final note to take from this discussion was how now is the time for debate over competition. The race is over. Everyone is starting from scratch including the fashion industry, and every other industry that will take a hit from this pandemic. Anderson speaks of how eager he would be to be part of a debate on how we go on from this, and hopefully other people will be too.