Since the announcement of his appointment as Artistic Director of Dior Femme, Jonathan Anderson has been steadily building suspense. Already heading the menswear line, he becomes the first designer since Christian Dior himself to oversee both lines simultaneously. A powerful signal from the House, determined to write a new chapter in its history with a visionary figure at the helm. And who better than Jonathan Anderson to take on the task?
Jonathan Anderson and the art of teasing
Ahead of the show, the designer playfully sows confusion. Invitations arrive in the form of a porcelain plate containing three ceramic eggs, instantly elevated to collector’s item status. A flurry of clues is then scattered across social media: Andy Warhol’s portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of Lee Radziwill, several reinterpretations of the Book Tote bag in literary form, and the launch of a new campaign featuring Kylian Mbappé, brand ambassador. A series of visual fragments, like beacons spanning decades. The message is clear: Jonathan Anderson has plunged into the archives of the House founded in 1946, ready to reignite its legends.
A first collection praised by all
It was in the solemn setting of the Hôtel National des Invalides that Jonathan Anderson unveiled his first menswear collection for Dior. A venue steeped in history for a collection that likewise juggles past and present. On the agenda: 67 looks, conceived as fragments of a portrait in progress.
From the very first look, the tone is set: the Bar jacket, an iconic piece of the women’s wardrobe and cornerstone of the legendary New Look is reimagined in true Anderson style. Transposed into a masculine version, it’s paired with oversized, deconstructed shorts, in a play on volume already seen at Loewe.
Look 20: raw, baggy-cut jeans, with a diagonal seam running down the leg, also play with proportions. They’re paired with a cropped waistcoat, creating a silhouette that’s both tailored and relaxed. The next look reprises the same composition, this time in a lighter palette like an inverted reflection.
The collection overflows with subtle details: bow ties worn directly on bare skin, delicate waistcoats, neckties tied backwards… Anderson sketches the outline of a new Dior man, somewhere unexpected. He’s not a classic hero, but rather a literary anti-hero, a man who browses, who reads, who dreams. A weary dandy or a young man from another century, take your pick.
Drama appears in flashes. A cape resembling an oversized sweater evokes a nearly vampiric silhouette. Elsewhere, the vibe becomes more hybrid: a white buttoned jumpsuit almost like an adult onesie is worn with suede fisherman sandals, a luxe twist on the iconic jelly shoes. Further along, a military-style jacket converses with skate-inspired sneakers. Anderson’s Dior man has no fixed age or assigned era; he travels through genres, memories, and stories.
A runway watched in bars
While a select few receive their porcelain plates, others craft their own moments. Spearheaded by fashion content creator @Lyas seemingly snubbed this season after being invited during the Maria Grazia Chiuri era, a watch party springs up in a bar in Paris’s 10th district. A last-minute initiative that gathers fashion lovers and the curious alike to watch the show live, in a relaxed yet passionate atmosphere.
This improvised but unifying collective moment perfectly captures what Jonathan Anderson brings to Dior today: a desire for fashion that transcends closed circles, an excitement which is both shared by insiders and amateurs as well. The Northern Irish prodigy has a knack for capturing the spirit of the times and forgotten references, handling heritage and the present with equal grace. But beyond creating a dialogue between the House’s past and the current moment, Anderson inscribes his own story and language within it. All with a natural ease that confirms if there were still any doubt that the new Dior era is well underway, and it bears as much the signature of its creator as its founder.
Article by Julie Boone.
