JW Anderson On His Most Exciting Product Yet

Jonathon Anderson has a lot to be chipper about in the run-up to Christmas. The Irish designer scooped up two prizes at the annual Fashion Awards – Accessories Designer of the Year for his creative direction at Loewe and British Womenswear Designer of the Year for his eponymous brand JW Anderson.

To top it all off he’s collaborated with Converse to create the most exciting product of his career so far. “The collection for me feels more like an intimate portrayal of myself,” he told Vogue exclusively of the trainer line. “It’s the tactility of it. It’s a self-portrait of what I’m into and what I wear.”

Fans of his androgynous, avant-garde designs will perhaps be surprised to see that Anderson’s image of himself in trainer form is a multi-coloured glittery high-top Chuck 70s baseball shoe and equally loud Thunderbolt trainer. “I wanted to work on something new and unexpected for the brand,” he explained of the unisex Glitter_Gutter line. “It’s the first time I’m excited about projecting myself into a product, which is a weird and new thing for me.”

On the synchronicity between brands, he said, “Converse is a subcultural icon! You can define its sneakers by three adjectives - quintessential, comfortable and affordable. It's an item that all the brands would like to create! It's amazing how the design hasn’t really changed since 1917.”

Since purchasing his first pair of Cons at 15, he added, Chuck Taylor has “served an incredible purpose to me. The brand he created is universal and I would love JW Anderson to be that universal.”

What an All-Star start to the party season.