Britain's Got Talent!

Fashion experimenter par excellence Jonathan Anderson joins forces with Uniqlo on a capsule collection of skewed English classics.

- Alison S. Cohn

Here’s something you might not know about Jonathan Anderson: He’s a self-confessed Uniqlo superfan. One of London’s most innovative and forward-thinking designers, Anderson is known for upending classics—including the cylinder-heel pump and gold barbell–pierced handbag he created for his own label—and for his sculptural experimentations with leather for the Spanish luxury house Loewe. Yet, he asserts, “All my T-shirts are Uniqlo, all my sweaters, my underwear, all my socks.” The 33-year-old fashion clairvoyant, who drew critical ire for a 2013 runway show featuring men in ruffled shorts long before gender fluidity became a fashion trope, has “massive admiration” for what the streamlined-basics behemoth has achieved: “It’s very difficult to reduce garments to their essence.” This fall, Anderson teams up with Uniqlo on a capsule collection of fancifully updated British heritage garments for women and men, including a trench with supersize tartan cuffs, an English military sweater with bold gold buttons, and a Nehru-collar cotton shirt with the designer’s signature ruffle dangling from its placket. Here, Anderson’s five flexible rules to live (and dress) by.