JW Anderson Molds Into Your Play-Doh-Filled Childhood With Clay-Informed Pieces

Image via JW Anderson

JW Anderson’s frog clogs aren’t the only leap into the fast-evaporating puddles that are our childhood memories. The Irish designer and creative director of Loewe is also reshaping recollections of when we played with Play-Doh.

Ahead of London Fashion Week, the designer’s eponymous label sent out invites in the form of a block of clay. The material, as it turns out, prefaced an experimental medium that’s rarely ever used in clothing. At the actual event, guests’ curiosity was satisfied when models took to the Spring/Summer 2024 runway in doughy renditions of hoodies and cargo shorts.

JW ANDERSON

24SS WOMEN'S pic.twitter.com/Uh4Mtda0Am

— Kのファッション部屋 (@k_fashionroom) September 19, 2023

According to the brand, the pieces substitute “classic draping methods” for “the act of manual molding.” To play out the illusion, JW Anderson used actual Plasticine—the British answer to Play-Doh—to create the garments’ fabric-like creases.

JW Anderson’s Clay Hoodie 👀 pic.twitter.com/uLmv49GiP9

— Hypebae (@hypebae) September 18, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

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Vogue reports that Anderson felt inspired to bring clay fits to the catwalk after discovering that Plasticine is still being produced in Northern Ireland, where he grew up. This revelation ballooned into visions of biker jacket-wearing boys and girls hanging out in the summer. 

omg these jw anderson ss24 pieces were made of CLAY?? pic.twitter.com/MZdFNaeDhn

— High End Homo (@highendhomo) September 16, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jonathan Anderson (@jonathan.anderson)

[via GQ, Vanity Teen, Vogue, images via various sources]