Spotlight: JW Anderson Resort

SEOUL, Palm Springs, Cannes, New York and Cambridge? JW Anderson took us off the beaten track last night for an evening of resort at Kettle's Yard, the former home of art folk Jim and Helen Eade.

But don't think he's hopped on the pre-collection band wagon just yet.

"It's just nice to come here," said the designer, who shrugged off the idea that this pleasant evening treat was part of what has become a growing trend for brands to throw something of a spectacular for their between-season collections ( Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Gucci hosted at the aforementioned spots). "We actually just decided to do this three weeks ago. I came here and when I was leaving thought how I wish more people knew about it. We wanted to help these guys out, it's nice to be able to do and, yes, I do fashion but ultimately there are different facets that go into it."

Anderson was referring to the property's closure, it will be sleeping for the next two years while a refurbishment takes place and the doors to a wonderful curation of art - paintings by Ben and Winifred Nicholson, sculptures from Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth - are shut. "I'm pretending it's my house for one evening. If I lived in an imaginary house, it would be like this," he said. It was a sentiment shared by all.
And the space's own art history certainly rubbed off on him. "My biggest question is: is fashion art? In my head it never will be because ultimately, it's a commerce. It's about the person, the individual. It's a functional thing, garments have to be worn."
Aptly, this train of thought is entirely in-keeping with the point of pre-collections: to sell, which with London hosting its own pre-collection initiative next week prompts the question: how important does he think it is for a designer to partake in the additional season?
"It depends.

At Loewe we don't do them - it's not something we need because we don't just rely on the clothing. JW relies on clothing so we need to keep up the pace and the newness for stores. Plus I enjoy them. I quite love doing them. I see it as 10 collections and it's a journey through them," he said.
Xoxo.