Few designers embrace collaboration as openly as Jonathan Anderson. It’s not just the breadth; the ceramics exhibitions, the literary homages and joint projects with art world royalty, it’s the holistic sense of dialogue he forges between clothes and creative stimulations. A case in point: the merino wool blankets that debuted last month in JW Anderson‘s FW21 collection. Conceived in collaboration with ceramicist Dame Magdalene Odundo DBE and performance artist Shawanda Corbett, they typify an approach that just keeps giving.

Six blankets, three from each artist, were translated from paintings – but you’d certainly be forgiven for wanting to hang these on your wall instead. The first, made with the Kenyan-born British potter and artist Odundo (whose work Anderson included in his 2017 Disobedient Bodies exhibition at Hepworth Wakefield), is based on an old painting she made while living in Belfast. Spotted by Anderson on a studio visit, it transpired that Odundo had made the work close to where Anderson grew up. This, combined with the fact the painting’s title is Cat Walk, was too clear a case of serendipity to ignore and hence the collaboration was born.

The other three blankets, created with New York-born ceramicist and performance artist Shawanda Corbett, offer a more abstract tone. After visiting Corbett’s exhibition at Corvi-Mora gallery in London last June (for which she was awarded a Turner Prize bursary), Anderson approached the multidisciplinary artist to collaborate and soon identified the paintings envisaged for this project. With four knitted by hand and two woven, these are as much blankets as they tapestries.

The JW Anderson limited edition blankets are now available for pre-order by contacting the store’s client team.