We need the pearl-emblazoned Guinness jumper, immediately.

There are no gold medals at fashion weeks, but if a winner had to be crowned at Milan Men’s Fashion Week this year, there would undeniably be unanimous murmurs of the name JW Anderson. The Northern Irish designer has once again taken inspiration from both the present and nostalgia from childhood to craft a collection that’s got everyone talking (and yearning after the bougiest Guinness jumper on the market).

The Architecture of Childhood

Anderson debuted a series of long and short knits inspired by the architecture in England and Ireland. This knee-length piece is reminiscent of the red-brick Georgian terrace houses scattered across Belfast. The designer also took inspiration from country cottages and two-up, two-down flats.

The Guinness Jumper Has Been Saved!

God bless the Guinness Storehouse, but if anything has ruined the humble Guinness jumper over the past few years, it’s every tourist and their granny touting the Guinness knit jumpers. Fancy a way of distinguishing yourself from the Trinity-hoody-wearing, Temple-Bar-sipping masses? Anderson’s got you covered with a pearly level-up. This was Anderson’s first official collaboration with Guinness: “I’ve always been a mega, mega fan of all the advertising Guinness, even back to the ’20s and ’30s. It’s the iconography of my childhood.” I guess that’s one way to get a conversation started at the pub.

Keeping With The Times

While Anderson’s collection delved into the nostalgia of childhood, he didn’t dwell on it. Having recently attended Primavera Sound in Barcelona, the designer took inspiration from the experimental style, and lack of gender conformance present in the fashion there. “I saw more people dressing in high fashion than what actually was happening in fashion. That feels like a reverse. Many people want something that is really challenging.” This inspiration couldn’t be clearer than the addition of femininity to some menswear staples, with lingerie-esque lace trims on V-Neck jumpers, and the dainty pearly addition to the chunky Guinness knits.

*all interview quotations courtesy of Fashion Network

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