Who believes in Jonathan Anderson?
In the relatively short time since his episodic appointment, there hasn’t been a medium that hasn’t asked “What can we expect from Jonathan Anderson at Dior?” News giants, mainstream and niche fashion titles and influencers hazarded predictions about the Irish wunderkind’s tactics at the French luxury house, preserving the hyperbole surrounding his face. He helped this along, with images and videos on his Instagram that looked like a leak of confidential secrets straight from the ateliers: a piece of striped fabric from a men’s shirt with a Dior fabric label sloppily pinned to it, rows of green leather clovers stitched together, animal-shaped metal pin cushions, portraits of Warhol (of Basquiat and Lee Radzivill), pop idols (Christian Empape)… a stitching together of references that attested to Anderson’s belief in creating a cultural environment around a brand of period faces, art and crafts, ideas and experimentation.
The anticipation for his maiden show – the first of a series of debuts (at Chanel, Gucci, Balenciaga and Jean Paul Gaultier) on which the fashion industry has staked its future – was unprecedented.
How did he handle it? We’d say loosely, so as not to rush – at least until we see the women’s – to say simplistically. The frame, however, was meticulous in every detail, testament to the designer’s meticulous study of the legacy of Dior, the house that handed him all the keys to its kingdom, bringing the organisation back to the days of Christian Dior.
But at Dior, a mythical label worth billions of dollars, with predecessors in other contemporary legends such as Raf Simons and John Galliano, Anderson must try to evolve into something more complex than his amiable, playful self.
The grand façade of the Grande Château des Appommes was covered in its entirety with a photograph of the house’s original haute couture salon, a reminder of Dior’s institutional place among the power symbols of French democracy. Velvets in the house’s signature light grey covered the walls of a temporary structure that housed the show inside the Invalides complex, while two rare 18th-century oil paintings by Jean Siméon Chardin occupied the same space, on loan from the National Gallery of Scotland and the Louvre, lent cultural prestige to the wells of the hot ambassadors, who were greeted with hearty hugs and smiles of complicity by director Luca Guadagnino outside the Hotel des Invalides.
Some of them we’d seen before they appeared in the show, in short films that unlocked, frame by frame, Anderson’s secrets for a new era in fashion: Sam Nivola, the 21-year-old actor and son of Emily Mortimer, in a wildflower meadow at Versailles, embodying the neo-romantic type, dressed in mermaid shorts and a Ralph Lauren pastel sweater, with braids and embroidered roses, playing with a Diorette pendant with a rococo feel, a period that Monsieur Dior adored. Robert Pattinson in a hotel room lazily enjoying his breakfast in the style of a thoughtful businessman in a classic striped shirt, the same shirt we saw in the teaser with Mbappe that Daniel Graig appeared in on the show, the same one worn on the street the day after the show by pregnant Rihanna.
Anderson’s first menswear gesture for summer 2026 involved the most recognisable symbol from Dior’s female figure, the Bar Jacket, the jacket with its accentuated waist and pronounced beret that defined New Look in 1947. The designer’s Little Princes wore it in a technically simplified version of Irish Donegal tweed, with a flat back and a vague hint of hourglass on the front.
A sense of Americana was running through the collection, the air of East Coast golden youth in which casual always seems high end, but references to 18th-century dandyism dominated with 1710-1865 redigotes accurately reproduced, and a tribute to the house’s heritage with imaginative renditions of historic Dior haute couture designs such as the Delft, Caprice and Cigale dresses. Scattered throughout the men’s looks were the elements that established him at Loewe: the volumes in coats, the animal look in charms and accessories, and eccentric bags that aspire to be as timeless as his Puzzle Bag at Loewe. We could even detect an influence of Hedi Slimane‘s style at Dior Homme, the coolest era in the house’s menswear (2000-2007), which handed fashion history the teenage man of the ’00s.
Anderson’s innovations, however, were not drastic
In many cases, they could also be mistaken as tacky, when, say, the jacket was paired with cargo shorts with brave side pleats (inspired by the couture Delft dress of 1948), and a high bow tie collar. The collection unfolded with many similar contraptions that tied pompous to casual pieces in the same look. Velvet redigotes matched faded jeans, classic coats appeared as capes with bold pleats on the back or cut in fluffy fabrics, wide khakis gave the illusion of a long skirt with the addition of an airy veil on one flap, ties were tied upside down with the new Dior label visible, clovers sprouted on sneakers and leather bags…
But this has always been Mr Anderson’s approach to fashion, and it seems to be his legacy: a play that defuses the tension between a series of opposites – luxury and grunge, feminine and masculine stereotypes, seriousness and commercialism, eclecticism and inclusivity. That’s how he approached Loewe’s 11-year-old project, that’s what he’s pursuing with his longtime collaboration with Uniqlo and this appears to be his first statement with the Dior menswear collection.
The Loewe we now cite as the model brand of a new era – with its annual Craft Prize that honors top artisans/artists from around the world, a design presence at the Salone del Mobile and a devoted following of celebrity followers – was created in the mind of Jonathan Anderson, and took shape thanks to the ingenuity and skills of his team, people who, as he acknowledged, “found a way to say ‘yes’ to my insanely ambitious ideas.” Many of them followed him to Dior, including the director of the men’s line, Giacomo Tortarolo, and the footwear designer, Nina Christensen.
But at Dior, a mythical label worth billions of dollars, with predecessors in other contemporary legends such as Raf Simons and John Galliano, Anderson must try to evolve into something more complex than his amiable, playful self. And definitely to tame his arrogance, not only because he is called upon to confront a heavy name, but also a deep crisis – creative and economic – of fashion.
Maybe with the invitation of his male defile, a porcelain plate with three embossed eggs, he was trying to say that if you don’t break eggs you don’t make an omelette. “I need to step out of my confidence once again and confront an aesthetic I’m not used to,” he told The New Yorker in March, before his move to Dior was even announced.
The early reactions from the industry and buyers were positive. “He brought his clean look and comfort to Dior,” the head of buying at Galeries Lafayette observed. “His collection combined what we love about Anderson and what we expect from Dior. These are clothes you crave, you want to own and keep.” Others spoke of warming up ahead of his first womenswear collection in the fall.
What we can realistically hope for is Anderson’s acknowledged golden touch in accessories. Dior desperately needs to connect with a cool, new audience, in Asia or America, that is certainly not covered by the Madame Dior aesthetic of Lady Dior handbags and Dioriviera Book Totes.
