Jonathan Anderson set for his first Dior womenswear collection in Paris

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Jonathan Anderson. Credits: Loewe.

Paris - Designer Jonathan Anderson presents his first womenswear collection for Dior this Wednesday. It is one of the most anticipated shows of Paris Fashion Week, where he will unveil his designs for the legendary French house.

Following his debut menswear collection in June, Anderson's womenswear premiere is one of the most highly anticipated shows this spring/summer 2026 season. It shares the spotlight with Matthieu Blazy's debut at Chanel on Monday.

The 41-year-old Northern Irishman, a contemporary art enthusiast, was the artistic director at the century-old Spanish brand Loewe for eleven years. Now part of the French luxury group LVMH, he profoundly rejuvenated the brand.

Trained at the London School of Fashion, Anderson began in Prada's marketing department before creating his own brand, JW Anderson, in 2008. At Loewe, he built a reputation for impeccable tailoring and a generous use of fine materials, such as leather and metal.

Appointed in April to head Dior's menswear collections, he also took charge of the womenswear line a few weeks later, replacing Maria Grazia Chiuri. He has become the first designer to assume full control of the brand's artistic direction, including haute couture, since Christian Dior founded the house in 1946.

“The challenge now, with one person leading the house's artistic direction, is how to connect these two areas,” Serge Carreira, a professor at Sciences Po Paris and a luxury industry specialist, explained to AFP.

“It will be interesting to see how Anderson manages to find both different expressions and a sense of unity,” he continues.

Film collaborations

For his first menswear collection, Anderson applied the formula he used to revitalise Loewe. This involved a careful treatment of materials, a bold concept, and a willingness to provoke both admirers and experts.

He reinvented the famous multi-pleated Delft skirt as very wide cargo shorts and also revisited the emblematic Bar jacket.

Anderson decided to reintroduce the historic logo used by Christian Dior in the early days, which can be seen as a nod to the brand's foundations.

“My idea is that we must decipher and reprogramme Dior (...) Dior is a house capable of being reborn from within itself,” he explained at the time.

The designer, who began by studying drama in the US, is closely linked to the world of cinema. He has collaborated several times with Italian director Luca Guadagnino. These collaborations include the costumes for Challengers, starring actress Zendaya, and for Queer, starring Daniel Craig.

Ahead of this show, Anderson has already hinted at his style for Dior's womenswear collections through several festival red carpet appearances.

At the Venice Film Festival, actress Alba Rohrwacher wore a blue pleated haute couture gown reminiscent of the voluminous shapes of 18th-century dresses. In Toronto, Anya Taylor-Joy wore a blue silk dress with an origami-like feel.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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