Nosey old ladies in M&S blouses inspire JW Anderson

RARE is the day that a cutting edge designer, showing on the catwalk at London Fashion Week, should reference Last of the Summer Wine as the inspiration for their collection.

But Jonathan Anderson, the Magherafelt-raised, self-trained, billion-pound king of London fashion has never dealt us the conventional.

It was ordinary British women of a certain age, though, who inspired the JW Anderson autumn 2024 collection. Models made up in grey set-curl wigs, pointelle thermals and slipper-like shoes came down the catwalk. After the show Anderson described his muse as “the person hanging their laundry out in the garden”.

“I liked the idea of a nosey neighbour,” he said. “Slightly twisted in terms of a woman next door.” Anderson envisaged her wearing “a Marks & Spencer blouse from the 70s.”

“With the wig, we had this idea of glorifying age and at the same time glamourising it,” he added.

To have included some actual older women in his 39-strong model line-up might have felt pertinent. But Anderson explained that his purpose was to highlight how obsessed his young customers today are with the idea of “nostalgia”.

“Kate Bush suddenly becomes really popular, or Tracy Chapman – young people are discovering nostalgia, and it becomes glorified and it feels new again,” he said. “But they consume it and discard it. It’s not a bad thing, maybe it’s exciting.”

Anderson’s complaint that there’s “no time for nosey neighbours any more” may lead his young followers to study their elders for styling tips. Every tuck-in, cuff turn-up and hand in pocket was deliberate by the exacting designer, to capture that spontaneity of his real-life muses.

Earlier, Emilia Wickstead scanned photographer Garry Winogrand’s authentic 1960s street images, picking well-dressed women out of the crowds and emulating their personal styling quirks too.

Wickstead’s models wore their crew neck jumpers over wide-collar shirts, tucked into ornate skirts, worn with pop socks and brogues.

“Each character carries a story, especially you can see it in these older women,” Wickstead said. “The weight of life – it contributes to their uniqueness and the way they’re accessorising and styling themselves. It’s truly original and personal style.”