Capturing forgotten moments of British life

Barely a month after releasing The Rain In Spain Stays Mainly In The Plain, a book that was created by CANDY magazine publisher Luis Venegas, J.W.Anderson is back with another publication. Created in collaboration with photographer Ian David Baker, this book contains a selection of the British image-maker’s work, curated by Anderson himself. “I first saw Ian’s work in a very small magazine booklet that I bought a long time ago, the fun sense of nostalgia drew me in,” says Anderson. “His images are just incredible! For me, they are showing British culture in such a charming and beautiful way.”

Baker’s work, which also includes collages, paints a candid portrait of British life – this book pays testament to that fact, with images depicting a variety urban and coastal scenes such as an old lady walking along a pier, a young boy playing with a football and an early 80s gay pride march. “It’s great to work with J.W.Anderson, as Jonathan has a belief in my work, and takes the risk of reproducing it outside of the usual channels,” says Baker, speaking on the collaboration. “Especially as few others have been beating a path to my door...”

More than just a book, which is limited to 500 copies, this collaboration also includes some products including scarves, t-shirts, hoodies, knitwear, tote bags, and a blanket – all appliquéd with Baker’s photographs. This isn’t the first time Anderson has teamed up with the photographer; in June of last year, he sold a selection of his prints on his website.

While the designer is making delving into the world of publishing more and more, photography and images more broadly link back to his fashion design. “Images are a very important part of my work, it’s usually how we start a collection or a project,” he tell us. “Instagram is an endless source, it’s fast... It reflects very much our today’s time.” However images are important to Anderson on a more personal level too, something which is reflected in the number of books he owns – a figure that is “probably over 100,000!”

The book is currently available on pre-order at www.j-w-anderson.com and all products available from 23rd March in store at J.W.Anderson Workshops, 100 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JQ & www.j-w-anderson.com. The book signing will take place tonight at J.W.Anderson Workshops, 6-8pm.