The rainbow cardi in question is an over-sized JW Anderson number and is a bit of departure from the close-fitting cropped cardigan styles that are trending on Instagram rn. It made an appearance and first captures the Styles fanbase hearts when he wore it during rehearsal for an appearance on The Today Show. The cardigan originally cost more than £1,250 or roughly $2,255 AUD, so uh, unless you've really been working on your side hustles in quarantine, DIY is the way to go.
The style features brightly coloured squares in red, green, yellow and orange, mixed with some black and red houndstooth panels for a checkerboard effect. It's very Styles, and also very unique, which makes the replicas even more impressive. Users on TikTok are showing their painstaking process recreating the cardigans, with self-deprecating voice-overs of course.
If you're handy with crochet needles or looking for an easy hobby to teach yourself from YouTube, many users are also sharing the hand created patterns they used. Or, in the case of one TikTok user, shares her mum crocheting the viral Styles cardigan while they watch performances from the man himself, it's extremely cute. While the cardigans may look similar and surprisingly accurate, each of them displays a slightly unique take on the trend and are seriously inspiring. Maybe after this, it's time for a trip to the fabric store?
People have also created some digital versions of the JW Anderson cardigan on everyone's favourite isolation video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It's been documented at length how Animal Crossing is this year's most exciting fashion destination and that includes celebrity looks. If you're not quite ready to invest a bunch of hours in crafting your own Styles cardigan dupe, this digital version would be a lot faster. Sadly, only your villagers get to wear it.
