London-based designer J.W.Anderson will design a capsule collection for Versace’s sister label, Versus.
The collection is part of a ‘stategic re-positioning of the brand’ as announced by Donatella Versace earlier this month, and will be the first in a series of collaborations with various designers.
‘I can’t wait to present this collaboration!’ said Donatella of this latest fashion marriage. ‘I keep a close eye on young talent, and have been impressed by Jonathan’s work over the last couple of years’.
It comes at the end of a great year for London College of Fashion graduate Anderson, who released a popular collaboration with Topshop in September and won the Emerging Talent Award for Ready-to-Wear at the British Fashion Awards 2012 just this week.
The collection will be launched in a presentation in April next year, which will be staged in New York, rather than the label’s native Milan, and will contain both mens’ and women’s wear as well as accessories. It will be sold at the world’s top department stores and online at versus.it.
Style-wise the designer has cited a certain Bruce Weber shot from the brand's 1996 campaign (above) as the collection's inspiration, so we can expect simple white denim and bags of androgynous appeal.
'For me,' said Jonathan, 'this iconic image says it all, that's how I see Versus. It's all about the relationship between a boy and a girl, a girl and a girl, a boy and a boy. Purity.'
The news comes after the announcement two weeks ago, that fellow young British designer Christopher Kane would be stepping down after six successful seasons at the creative helm of the Italian brand, amidst rumours that he was next in line at Balenciaga (rumours which are now being directed at New York designer Alexander Wang).
COMMENTS
