Jonathan Anderson’s Tour of Brighton, England
Photographed by Thurstan Redding1/8Anderson calls the Royal Pavilion, built in 1786 by John Nash, and commissioned by George, Prince of Wales, “one of the most fantastical, mysterious buildings.” The interiors are a wild trip of appropriative Asian motifs, from an enormous dragon chandelier to bamboo-painted pink wallpaper. “I kind of feel like opulence can be a very good backdrop,” Anderson says.
Photographed by Thurstan Redding2/8The Brighton Pier serves as the backdrop of the JW Anderson x Uniqlo campaign. First opened in May 1899, the landmark has lived through several iterations, housing a theater, restaurants, and an amusement park. Today, it’s a one-stop shop for fish and chips, frozen treats, and a walk through a haunted house.
Photographed by Thurstan Redding3/8The western view from the pier shows the remnants of the West Pier and Brighton’s rocky beach. “I’ve loved Brighton Beach because there’s something quite, I don’t know, it has this amazing honesty in terms of a British type of summer,” says Anderson.
Photographed by Thurstan Redding4/8In winter, the roller coasters on the pier become de facto outposts for the city’s many seagulls. The birds are mascots for the beachside town, appearing in the JW Anderson x Uniqlo collaboration on T-shirts and tote bags.
Photographed by Thurstan Redding5/8Anderson highly recommends a trip to Charleston House in Firle. The two-story cottage was the home of Virginia Woolf’s sister Vanessa Bell and her husband, Duncan Grant, and functioned as a meeting point for the Bloomsbury group. Seen here is Bell’s painting studio, left almost exactly intact. The entire house is a testament to the Bell family’s collaborative creativity, with clay pot chandeliers made by Bell’s son, Quentin, and paintings done directly on the walls by both Bell and Grant.