Irish fashion designer Jonathan Anderson has been honored as one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2024.
The magazine annually selects 100 people from various fields, including politics, the arts and academia, who have had the biggest impact on society through the work they have done.
Anderson, the son of an Irish rugby legend, is the creative director of Loewe and his eponymous label J.W. Anderson and has been recognised as one of the most awarded and respected names in the fashion industry.
READ MORE: Irish rugby legend's son parades international shirt on runway at Milan Fashion Week
He’s a favorite among celebrities - he designed Rihanna's memorable custom red bodysuit and breastplate for the singer's 2023 Super Bowl halftime show - fashion fans and critics alike.
In a profile written for the Time 100 issue, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino said Anderson has "an innate understanding of how fashion and human behavior intertwine," with the Call Me By Your Name director describing the Irishman as "one of the most intelligent, empathetic, and curious people I know".
Raised in Magherafelt, a town of about 8,800 people in Derry, Anderson is the son of Heather Buckley, a secondary school teacher, and rugby great Willie Anderson, who captained Ireland and Ulster in the '70s who went on to be a coach at Leinster under Matt Williams.
Anderson memorable donned an Irish rugby jersey to honour his dad as he took a bow at the end of his fashion week show in Milan on Father's Day last year.
Anderson grew up during The Troubles and recalled the 'underlying violence' of daily life during his childhood in an interview with l'Etiquette.
"Once our school bus was hijacked by armed men. Another time, when I was going to see my grandparents, I came across a guy who’d just been shot at in his car," he said.
"And then there was the time a man in a motorcycle helmet came into the pub where my brother worked and shot someone who was sitting at the bar in the head. That’s what things were like then. In the morning, my father would check his car before he started the engine, and we had to go through checkpoints to get to school."
Anderson said the experience made him "fairly tough". "Whatever happens to me, a part of me knows that things could be worse. It’s like wearing armor. Sometimes I can be very hard on people on my team when they complain because I think we should always keep things in perspective."
Despite the encounters with violence, Anderson has fond memories of his childhood in Derry and said he is "happy I grew up in Ireland; the education system is really good, and it’s a healthy life."
However, he admitted that he was eager to break free from his homeland and as he "always felt a form of social control there. You know, people peering out the window through their curtains to see what you’re up to."
Initially, Anderson pursued a career in acting and spent a year studying to be an actor at Washington D.C.’s Studio Theater when he was 18, mainly to "[get] the hell out of Northern Ireland."
However, he decided against following a career in Hollywood as the costumes proved to be a distraction, with the Irishman telling Vogue: "I became more obsessed with them."
He returned to Dublin and got a job at Brown Thomas as a merchandiser for Prada before studying menswear at the London College of Fashion.
After he graduated in 2005, Anderson was hired by Manuela Pavesi to work as a visual merchandiser at Prada, where he spent nearly two years
The Derry-native took a leap of faith and launched his label J.W.Anderson in 2008 when he was just shy of turning 24 and was quickly singled out as “one to watch,” receiving sponsorship from the British Fashion Council’s NewGen committee in 2010.
He presented his first catwalk collection at London Fashion Week, after building a reputation through sponsored collections created for Topman.
Anderson won the Emerging Talent Award - Ready-To-Wear at the British Fashion Awards in November 2012 and the following year, at just 29, he took the creative helm at Spanish luxury house Loewe.
Under Anderson’s leadership, Loewe has become one of the hottest fashion brands in the world on track to become a $1 billion brand.
His own label has seen similar success. In 2015, JW Anderson, made history by becoming the first to win both men’s and womenswear designer of the year at the British fashion awards.
In 2020, a JW Anderson cardigan worn by Harry Styles prompted a surge of TikTok creators to crochet their own. Inspired by their creativity and craft, Anderson released a Knit Pattern for sale through the brand.
Anderson now counts some of showbiz’s biggest stars among his clients and he was named Designer of the Year at the Fashion Awards in London in December.
The designer is now returning to his film roots by taking on the job of costume designer in Luca Guadagnino's new film Challengers, starring Zendaya as a talented tennis pro caught in a complex and passionate love triangle.
Guadagnino reportedly approached Anderson to lead the costume design for his avant-garde approach and ability to push creative boundaries.
It marks Anderson’s first turn as a costumier for a major film, which is set to hit Irish cinemas at the end of the month.
He will also reunite with Guadagnino for his next film, Queer, which stars Daniel Craig and is also due to be released this year.
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