Jonathan Anderson has just dropped a peek into his new collection on Instagram for his eponymous brand, JW Anderson, offering a hint at the Irish designer's deepening philosophy and appreciation for homegrown heritage products.
The photos feature close-ups of labels stating that pieces were 'Made in Ireland' or ‘Made in Scotland’, a clarion call for bringing fashion production closer to home again. But this is not the first time that Anderson has expressed label consciousness.
In 2020, after a year none of us would forget, the world was plunged into quarantines and Zoom calls. In November of that year, JW Anderson released his ‘Made in Britain’ line, a limited release collection, with the name referring to where each piece was to be produced.
With a focus on the collection being made in UK-based factories, it was also an in-house form of upcycling by using surplus fabrics from previous collections to create pieces. The result was a collection that featured visible stitching and an almost ‘Frankensteined’ panel dress, very intentionally patched together from leftover fabric.
While being eco-conscious, the collection also lent itself to being produced locally – in this case, across a variety of factories in the UK. It's a strong current in Anderson's work: JW Anderson just recently featured Scottish kilts in a collaboration with Lochcarron of Scotland, which are crafted in Selkirk, Scotland, by heritage Scottish kilt specialists and featuring side pockets and side leather strap adjusters with buckles.
Lochcarron of Scotland is one of the world’s leading tartan manufacturers, producing traditional dress and textiles on the Scottish Borders since 1947. However, fans of Anderson will recall his collections with Topshop back in the 2010s, when he convinced the then megabrand to produce his designs in the UK. On that he noted, "It was so amazing that we could give four-and-a-half thousand kilts to a traditional maker in Scotland—and then girls bought them in Topshop all over the world."
Anderson has also in the past worked with a shirting factory in Northern Ireland, Smyth & Gibson. Established in 1994, the company paid homage to the long history of shirt making in Derry-Londonderry dating to the 19th century. It was one of the last remaining traditional handmade shirt makers in Britain and Ireland before sadly closing its doors back in 2019.
This is even before mentioning his still-available Donegal Tweed Collection, which sees impeccably tailored trousers in what is noted as "a fabric woven from a textile tradition deeply rooted in the Irish landscape."
Echoing his reverence for the heritage fabric (and for history in general), Anderson also featured Donegal-tweed in his debut collection for Dior for Dior Homme's Menswear Ready-to-wear collection back in June 2025. As the bar jacket was reimagined for men, the timing of Anderson’s work aligned with the Donegal Tweed Association’s continuing campaign to win a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) from the European Union for this fabric.
And only days ago the brand posted on TikTok about Damask Silk made in Sudbury, England by Humphries Weaving alongside its history. The specialists in historic damask silk were founded in 1972, establishing a reputation for historical accuracy. By supporting excellent craftsmanship and mentioning historical accuracy in their posts, it is exciting to see what this new collection by JW Anderson will hold.
This does not appear to be just posturing by Anderson either. Even thinking ahead in 2025, for collections in 2026, Anderson remains conscious of what labels say and that locally made clothing is an important part of the brand’s legacy. As it has always been: Only five years after he launched his eponymous brand in 2008, he was quoted in a Vogue article in May 2013, directly reacting to disasters that occurred at clothing factories in Bangladesh and Cambodia.
From wage theft, minimal pay and unsafe workplaces, the exploitative conditions that garment workers endure across the global south was thrust into the spotlight in 2013 following the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh. The disaster was the deadliest industrial incident in the history of the garment industry when on 24 April, 2013, the eight-story building collapsed, killing 1,134 people and injuring thousands.
As noted by earthday.org, survivors recounted distressing stories, with many forced to sacrifice limbs to survive. In the pursuit of the latest trends, large structural cracks were discovered at the factory but despite warnings to avoid the building, the garment factory owners on the upper floors ordered workers to return the next day.
On the reality of the global clothing manufacturing industry (that still exists 12 years on) Anderson responded to the Rana Plaza disaster by stating, "Ethically, I feel it’s a tipping point", adding: "In the end, it’s more about communities than fashion."
Speaking about community and using UK-based factories to produce his collections, he also noted that, "it keeps people in work." But Anderson cannot do it alone, as was apparent when the shirting factory Smyth & Gibson closed in 2019.
Speaking to Vogue in 2013, Anderson noted that "it’s incredible to be able to employ people in our area and keep the economy going." Arguably it is also easier to monitor humane living conditions when the point of production is much more local.
The quality of Irish fabric has always spoken for itself, but by proudly stating where pieces are made it may ensure that heritage manufacturers and heritage fabrics gain a new legacy through brands like JW Anderson.
By sewing a label that states ‘Made in Ireland’ or ‘Made in Scotland’ onto the pieces within JW Anderson’s collections, it is not just highlighting the quality of the fabric – but the quality of production and a nod to the brand’s continued aim to shift the direction of the global garment-producing industry’s future.
