Either Jonathan Anderson has a gift worthy of Nostradamus or he just got really lucky that there was plenty of discourse online this past Christmas about whether or not Stanley Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut, could be considered a Christmas film. Yes, it’s set over Christmas but the film’s sinister and erotic plot may not be for everyone on Chrimbo morning – except maybe in the Anderson household. The 1999 erotic thriller served as the central inspiration for the designer’s FW24 co-ed collection and it served as a very loving tribute to Christiane and Katharina Kubrick, the director’s wife and daughter who produced most of the paintings seen throughout the film. For Anderson, the collection was about bringing these background details to the foreground. 

Several pieces in the collection were screen-printed replicas of these background paintings and even the show’s invite featured a painting in holographic form (the same painting also found its way onto a billowing pullover). In a standout piece (that you can already tell is going to be everywhere), Katharina’s painting of the family’s beloved cat Polly (which she painted for her father’s 60th birthday) was rendered onto a jumper. Elsewhere, the paintings appeared across sleeved knit dresses which, when placed side-by-side, formed a triptych to reveal the complete canvas.

The film’s velvety red palette found its way onto baggy trousers, stilettos, wide-shouldered velvet evening jackets, opera gloves, cable-knit jumpers and shorts, and oversized drop-shoulder cardigans. Dramatic poinsettias acted as brooches and, perhaps, were the final word on whether Eyes Wide Shut is a Christmas film or not. (Backstage, Anderson confirmed it absolutely is.)

In a typically Anderson move, many of the male models walked the runway in sheer black tights, perhaps the final piece of classically feminine apparel to make the transition to menswear. Paired with tasselled loafers and black knee-high socks (sometimes with underwear on full display too), it felt like Anderson finally reached the endgame of his great project to break down the gender barrier in fashion.