"A Total Dream": Dior's Floating Catwalk Sets The Stage For Jonathan Anderson's Confident New Collection

t’s early on a sunny spring morning in Paris and Jonathan Anderson is upbeat as he greets British editors at a backstage preview of his AW26 womenswear collection. ‘The pressure last year was intense,’ he says. ‘Now I feel calmer, more relaxed. The first show was a reactionary thing: what do I see in the brand? This feels like where I want it to go – and I’m allowing time to get there. As the shows go on, I am freer to do what I think is needed.’

Advertisment

As the first creative director of both men’s and womenswear at Dior since its founder, the weight of history is on Anderson’s shoulders. Though the 41-year-old helped redefine modern dressing during his decade at Loewe, reimagining Dior is the biggest challenge in luxury. Less than a year in, he’s already showed four collections and started to establish his vision. This is his second women’s ready-to-wear outing and the scale of his ambition is apparent in the set that’s been created in the Jardin des Tuileries: a giant glass box surrounds the formal fountains, with a catwalk raised over floating lily pads. Instead of the usual blacked-out tent, where previous creative directors have put on their shows, light now floods in. ‘For me the key was just to make it fresh,’ Anderson says. ‘Sometimes Dior can get very heavy in history – yes, it’s Dior, and it has this giant past, but it must resist itself. You want to agitate against the retro.’

He’s the most forward-thinking of designers and the collection perfectly played with brand identity – the Bar jacket appearing again and again, exploding with couture volume and worn with loose jeans, shrunken but forced outwards from the waist by multiple layers of frills or turned into a collarless cardigan whose fluted hem spread over a lavishly layered tulle mini skirt with a cascading train. Somehow the house codes became avant garde, past and present beautifully colliding: tailored trousers had buttons at the hem like track pants, washed-out denim skirts unfurled like the petals of a flower, the New Look turned into an abbreviated skirt suit in what looked like shaved shearling. There was complete clarity in the silhouettes and an overwhelming sense of confidence in his interpretation.

Throughout 65 looks, the focus was on spectacular fabric experimentations and executions: ‘I’m really trying to elevate the making of things,’ he said backstage. Even the stuff of everyday outfits was lifted: denim appeared throughout, edged with crystals or beaded and embellished, fabulous elaborations on simple pieces. But there was also restraint in a beautiful black suit, cut with laser precision, or a black tuxedo-collared coat. ‘It’s more wardrobe than I would usually do,’ he said. ‘This is the Dior wardrobe.’

Advertisment

There were doubts over the October debut: had he taken on too much? Was he really able to turn clever, considered fashion into something that reignited desire on a truly global stage? This was a turnaround on an epic scale. JW Anderson’s Dior is a total dream. Don’t wake me up.

Also Read:

Lady Dior Art Project