Jonathan Anderson is coming to Pitti

J. W. Anderson, the path-breaking London-based fashion house, will stage a gala runway show on June 14th at the next edition of Pitti Uomo, the prestigious Florentine menswear salon.

“Very excited to be the next special guest at #Pittiuomo,” designer Jonathan Anderson revealed via his Instagram page.

Anderson’s designs mix the naïve with the downright perverse; his clothes gender-bend each season. In an era when the lines between the sexes have become increasingly blurred, no other single designer has championed androgyny as much as Anderson, the Ulster-born son of a former captain the Irish national rugby team.

“We are very happy. The choice of Anderson is self explanatory. We are following him for many seasons. He is a really great talent, one of the most important actors on the fashion stage in this period. And, it’s great to have someone so special in Pitti!” enthused Raffaelo Napoleone, managing director of Pitti.

“Jonathan is currently deciding on the right space - we have several options. And as you know the ideas for a show can vary enormously according to the location used. But wherever it is, we are very proud to have him in Florence,” Napoleone added.

This summer’s Pitti will also include a major exhibition curated by France’s Olivier Saillard inside Palazzo Pitti. Entitled the Musée Ephémère, it will be about a museum that does not exist, but might come into existence in a collaboration between the Florentine museum’s own costume department and that the Palais Galliera, the Paris fashion museum where Saillard has staged many legendary exhibitions.

The show will mark Anderson’s first proper runway show outside of the UK, where he has presented his ideas since 2008. Since 2013, Anderson has been creative director of Spanish luxury label Loewe. However, his jaunt to Florence will only feature designs from his own house. In 2015, Anderson won the double at the British Fashion Awards, being named both menswear and womenswear designer of the year.

By choosing Anderson, Pitti – probably the world’s best-organized fashion salon - underlined its commitment to supporting experimental talent by inviting the hyper-modernist Northern Irish designer to the capital of the Renaissance. The next edition of Pitti, its 92nd, is scheduled from June 13 to June 16 in the Tuscan city.

Anderson follows a distinguished line of designers who have been so honored by Pitti. He joins a highly reputable group of both international brands and emerging stars that have either debuted their men’s runway careers in Pitti or staged anniversary shows in the Tuscan capital. This includes Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli, Sir Paul Smith, Raf Simons, Haider Ackermann, Jil Sander, Gareth Pugh and Trussardi.

Jonathan Anderson is coming to Pitti

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