Frederick Anderson first came to New York City to study dance when he was only 16 years old. A night out at the ballet to watch his friend Catherine Hurlin, the principal at the American Ballet Theatre, late last year resurfaced memories of his time as a dancer. “I just sat there weeping,” said Anderson after his runway show today. “The great thing about New York is that it takes us on a journey, and you never know where you’ll end up.” Anderson shifted from the stage to the runway over the course of his career, but the idea of movement has remained at the core of what he does.
For spring, he landed on Swan Lake and began musing on the idea of the swan both as a character in Tchaikovsky’s story and as one in his own life. Truman Capote used to refer to his coterie of high-society female friends as swans, and spring saw Anderson ruminate on the women in his life—his very own swan lake—what they wore when he was younger, what they wear now that he dresses them, and what they’ll wear next year from this collection.
“What I really wanted to make is clothing,” he said, “I wanted to get back to the art of making clothes, the story here is that I’ve been in the industry for 20 years and I can make a garment.” Anderson is an adept draper. Most convincing in this lineup were the moments where he leaned into this skill: A couple of tan crepe dresses, some lace fabrications, and a sheer green sequin slip. It was where he let his swans soar that Anderson found his own wings this season.
