When it was announced in April that JW Anderson would succeed Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior, it set the industry humming. Known for his conceptual rigour and offbeat elegance, Anderson’s appointment marked a decisive shift for the storied French house. With it came a wave of anticipation: Can he reframe Dior’s narrative? Can he bring something new while still speaking Dior’s language? The questions loomed large, and all eyes were on him.
In the lead-up to his first show, Anderson let the world in on his inspiration. He shared a mood board steeped in personal iconography—photographs of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Lee Radziwill, two figures who, for him, embody style in radically different registers. Then came his take on the beloved Dior Book Tote: reimagined as literal book covers, paying homage to literary heavyweights from Dracula to Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
A teaser video followed on Instagram, starring Kylian Mbappé playfully shifting between a crisp oxford-and-blazer combo and a razor-sharp black tuxedo, all set to soaring strings. It played like a cinematic overture to a reinvention already in motion. Even the show invitation—a porcelain plate topped with three pristine eggs—hinted at the eccentric and symbolic, a surrealist touch lifted from an obscure Dior archival reference.
On 27 June, beneath the grandeur of the Hôtel National des Invalides in Paris, Anderson revealed his first menswear collection for Dior. The venue, inspired by the velvet-lined rooms of Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie, was anchored by two still lifes by French artist Jean Siméon Chardin, graciously loaned by the Musée du Louvre and the National Galleries of Scotland.
Amid this carefully curated setting, a constellation of style icons lit up the room—Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Robert Pattinson, Sabrina Carpenter, Seventeen’s Mingyu, Apo Nattawin, and Mile Phakphum. Many arrived draped in Anderson’s latest designs, turning the audience itself into a preview of Dior’s next chapter.
The show opened with a twist on the house’s signature Bar jacket, styled with ballooning white denim cargo shorts and a pleated bustle—a contemporary riff on the 1948 Delft dress. What followed was a deliberate push and pull between structure and eccentricity. Slouched denim grounded the silhouettes; around it, century-old frock coats, oversized neck bows, vivid capes, and intricately patterned vests offered bursts of theatricality.
The contrasts became more intentional as the show progressed. Think a moss green trench with leather collars, or a double-stacked military jacket. Then came a softened spin on office staples: striped oxfords with matching ties—some layered, others styled inside-out.
The accessories carried their own narrative weight. The Dior Book Tote returned with even more literary references than teased—this time, from Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal to Capote’s In Cold Blood—a collision of poetic melancholy and true crime cool. Meanwhile, the Lady Dior, reimagined by artist Sheila Hicks, became a sculptural swirl of linen ponytails. The footwear added another layer of character: skate sneakers with loose laces and fisherman sandals pared down in neutral tones.
In case you missed it, watch the show here:
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