JW Anderson calls off Milan runway show, plans digital instead

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jan 10, 2022

Designer JW Anderson has called off his planned Milan runway show for next weekend and will instead unveil his next menswear collection digitally.

 
The decision is a significant disappointment for Milano Moda Uomo, the key Italian menswear season, which had heralded the arrival of Jonathan Anderson and his hip UK label as an expression of Milan’s pulling power in menswear.
 
“Due to the logistical difficulties and challenging travel situation, caused by the current coronavirus developments, JW Anderson are going to be presenting their FW Men’s collection as a digital show,” the London-based house of Anderson explained in a terse statement.

“The show will be premiered on the Camera della Moda channels on Sunday 16 January at 8:00PM CET. JW Anderson remains committed to Milan and will return in June with a physical show to present their Men’s SS23 collection,” the house stressed.
 
The cancellation means that Anderson joins a significant list of runway shows planned for Italy this month that have been called off due to concerns about the omicron variant.
 
Milan’s next menswear season is due to be staged from January 14 to 18; and will follow the three-day menswear fair in Florence.
 
Anderson follows the example of Giorgio Armani, who called off both his Emporio and signature collection menswear shows in Milan, and his haute couture show in Paris later in January.
 
That said, even with the late withdrawals, Milan is currently scheduled to stage 18 runway shows, spread over five days, including such stellar marques as Zegna, Prada, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, DSquared2 and Etro, as brands stage more intimate shows respecting sanitary restrictions necessitated by the pandemic.
 
Last week, Pitti announced that its banner event in Florence, Ann Demeulemeester, had been rescheduled for the summer. The show had been planned as an interactive retrospective celebrating the Belgian brand’s 40th anniversary.
 
While a key stalwart of Pitti, Brunello Cucinelli had pulled out of the fair, though he will however stage a showroom presentation in Milan.