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When I arrived at Frederick Anderson’s Manhattan boutique and atelier, he was in the back room where his garments are designed, sewn, and fitted, taking a final pass through the brand’s pre-fall 2025 offering before it was neatly packed in large duffles. The pieces were soon off to Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Anderson staged a destination show. The designer’s recent collections have celebrated African influences, and Puerto Rico came to mind while he was in conversation with menswear designer Carlos Campos, discussing the prominence of the island as part of the African diaspora. “When you think of these collections,” Anderson said of the releases between spring and fall, “it’s either an evolution in or out of something. You’re not going to start a whole new theme; it’s really: how do I make this make sense in my evolution.”
Picking up where spring 2025 left off—a runway that concluded with a number of black dresses—pre-fall 2025 is filled with vacation-ready whites: a crochet mini dress paired with an oversized cardigan; a midi lace pencil skirt with a thigh-high slit. White ruffled pieces abound—a nod to looks worn to dance the Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba. Traditionally made in cotton, “I did them in silks and in organzas, because that’s my client,” Anderson said of the silhouettes. An abstract print on draped silk dresses and separates called to mind the ocean splashing up against coastal rock. “I love brown and blue together,” Anderson said of the fabric. “There’s something very chic about that combination.”
Much of the collection, Anderson said, is “a texture story,” marked by guipure mixed with taffeta, and embroideries inspired by the Puerto Rican vines and flowers that snake up the walls of buildings. A shift dress with alternating lace and denim panels is a standout among casual pieces, and Anderson’s fondness for ’70s silhouettes is seen in an asymmetrical jumpsuit done in tie-dye.
“My client is here because she wants something special—she’s not here because she wants what everyone else is wearing,” Anderson said of those who walk through his boutique doors. The show’s finale look is made with that in mind: a dazzling chainmail dress—gold crystal on open mesh—with a cowl-neck halter and two side slits. Anderson fit it over a dress form and took a step back. “Isn’t it epic?” he remarked.
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