Jonathan Anderson announced that he will be taking over womenswear and couture at Dior today, becoming the first sole creative director at the Parisian house since Dior himself. The Irish designer will be making his debut for Men’s Paris Fashion Week, on June 27th (we don’t have to wait that long). His first womenswear show will be in October.
The announcement followed Maria Grazia Chiuri stepping down from her nine-year tenure as womenswear and couture CD role last week.
In many ways, Jonathan Anderson is a creative genius, focusing on beautiful craftsmanship but also fun designs and crazy, tapped-in campaigns. Let’s not forget that while he was CD at Loewe for a decade, he absolutely transformed the Spanish house from a leather goods brand known for producing luxury leather for Spanish royalty to topping Lyst’s hottest brands list – breathing new life to the brand.
And he’s about to do some magic at Dior. Here’s what to expect.
Unreal accessories
During his tenure at Loewe, Anderson created a number of beautifully crafted bags such as the Puzzle (a way of crafting a bag that can be folded down flat), but also fun pieces like his tomato clutch and his makeup brush heels. Anderson’s most definitely bringing all his creative forces to Dior, and we’re expecting new innovative designs with Dior’s accessories.
Crazy campaigns
Under Jonathan Anderson, Loewe was winning with its campaigns – using cult photographers like Juergen Teller and fusing playful, tapped-in humour but also showcasing the house’s huge focus on craftsmanship – often showing the artisanal processes on Loewe’s social media. Do you think Dior will adopt that campaign strategy?
Surrealist takes on Dior’s house codes
What Jonathan Anderson is good at (aside from his excellent designs and craftsmanship) is not taking himself too seriously. His work throughout his career has been playful and surreal with light-hearted avant-garde designs and tongue-in-cheek takes on culture (think of his Loewe balloon pumps, his pixelated collection, or his JW pigeon clutch). He’s for sure going to bring this energy to the Dior house, weaving in humour to Dior’s classic codes and bringing out the quirkiness of the Parisian house. Arguably, Dior hasn’t seen avant-garde like this since Galliano.
Insane craft
Jonathan Anderson’s Loewe was filled with crazy trompe l’oeil designs, interesting textures, and unreal shapes – merging realism with surrealism in his collections through 10/10 craftsmanship and detailed designs. His work at Loewe brought innovative designs without undermining masterful craft. At Dior, we’re expecting he continues with his experimental style, transforming the legendary house.
Colour bursts
Maria Grazia Chiuri had a preference for neutrals in her collections, Jonathan Anderson on the other hand loves to saturate his designs with a range of colours. Just from his personal IG announcement (an image of leather crafted four-leaf clovers – a sweet nod to his heritage – and a ladybug), he’s suggesting that this will be a colourful Dior era.
Cohesion between womenswear and menswear
Since Christian Dior was designing, Dior had separate creative directors for its womenswear and its menswear lines. Jonathan Anderson’s appointment is a historical one as he is the first sole CD since Dior himself, looking after the entire Dior brand. There’s definitely going to be a more united vision between the two sides – and perhaps joint collections down the line?
Featured image Jonathan Anderson©
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