Fashion One brings you J W Anderson to produce Versace Versus capsule collection

Versace may have parted ways with one young London designer, but they have quickly picked up another bright young thing in the form of 28-year-old Jonathan Anderson: the Northern Ireland-born designer Jonathan Anderson will work with the famous Italian design house on an upcoming design collaboration.

Christopher Kane's departure from Versus was announced by Versace last week, the Italian label promising that Donatella Versace would lead a rolling collection of young creative partnerships including "collaborations with young designers, stylists, and creatives from different walks of life". As part of a new digital and youth-oriented direection the brand promised new capsule collections, co-branding projects, and limited edition items that wouldn't necessarily stick to the traditional runway schedule.

Anderson intially trained as an actor, but it was in theater that he discovered a love for stage costume, which led him to study menswear at the London College of Fashion, and his debut collection was unveiled at London Fashion Week in 2007.

Jonathan Anderson says he was inspired by an image from a campaign shot by Bruce Weber with Donatella Versace in 1996. "For me," said Jonathan, "this iconic image says it all, that's how I see Versus. It's all about the relationship between a boy and a girl, a girl and a girl, a boy and a boy. Purity."

Despite training in men's clothing, Anderson has since received critical acclaim for his J W Anderson womenswear and commercial success with his best-selling collaboration with Topshop. "I use men's as the stepping stone for women's and vice versa" he told Paper magazine in a profile earlier this month. Two days ago, Anderson was awarded the "Emerging Talent Award for Ready-to-Wear" at the 2012 British Fashion Awards.

Donatella Versace announced her excitement at the capsule collection, which will launch in April 2013 -- "Versus is all about fun, change, and digital. I can't wait to present this collaboration!"