Fashion’s favourite provocateur, Jonathan Anderson, is trading the runway for the reed beds this year. For Salone del Mobile 2026, JW Anderson is leaning into the master-level craftsmanship. In a collaboration with British Yeoman Basketmaker Eddie Glew, the brand is unveiling a quartet of willow-woven wonders that prove the most sophisticated technology is still a pair of skilled hands.
Based in Staffordshire, Glew is more than a weaver; he’s a preservationist. After apprenticing with his father and studying under expert Sally Goymer via a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust grant, he has dedicated his career to passing these generational skills to a new wave of willow weavers.
Forget flimsy picnic hampers. These four pieces—a Blanket Basket, Log Basket, Laundry Basket, and a Basket Bag—are inspired by the sturdy architecture of medieval storage chests. Handcrafted in England, the collection is woven from premium British willow. If the bags look like they belong in a museum (or a very chic 14th-century manor), that’s the point; art historian Dr. James Fox even narrated a film documenting the process.
If you’re in Milan during Salone, you can catch Glew in action at the JW Anderson flagship. Ditching high-tech machinery for a shave horse and a draw knife, Glew will be hand-carving flowers from single pieces of wood, a skill he learned from his father.
This technique stems from Romany traditions of crafting flowers from hedgerows. Guests can walk away with a unique handcrafted flower, complete with a postcard explaining the history of the craft.
