Versace enlists J.W. Anderson for first Versus collaboration

By

Florent Gilles

Published
Nov 29, 2012

British designer Jonathan Anderson – better known as J. W. Anderson – is lending his creativity to Versus for the brands first ever collaboration. The Italian label recently announced the departure of its Artistic Director, Christopher Kane, after 4 years together. However, the collaboration will not fall in line with the regular fashion seasons since it will hitting stores in April 2013. The capsule collection, J. W. Anderson for Versus, will feature both men’s and women’s wear and accessories.

“I keep a close eye on young talent, and have been impressed by Jonathan’s work over the last couple of years,” said Donatella Versace, who has chosen to work with another London-based designer. “Versus is all about fun, change, and digital.” As for the inspiration behind the collection, Jonathan Anderson has highlighted an image from the Versus archives, taken in 1996 by Bruce Weber. For me, this iconic image says it all, that's how I see Versus," Anderson said. "It's all about the relationship between a boy and a girl, a girl and a girl, a boy and a boy. Purity." Does this mean a new minimalistic look for the brand ? the unveiling of the collection will be in New York in the Spring so we will have to wait to find out.

The label’s online store will be undergoing a revamp in order to accommodate worldwide shopping and is due to be unveiled at the same time as the collection. Based in London, J. W. Anderson took his first steps in fashion in 2008 with a menswear collection which sparked his hit women’s ready-to-wear collection. September 2012 saw retail giant Topshop collaborate with the designer for a women’s capsule collection, before he was awarded Best Emergent Designer at the British Fashion Awards earlier this week.