Fashion often gets a bad rap, described as a nightmare filled with uncomfortable clothes, unrealistic beauty standards, and a distorted sense of value.
It’s unusual, though, for a designer himself—especially one so celebrated—to highlight these darker aspects of the industry.
But that’s exactly what Jonathan Anderson did. As Dior’s new creative director, he kicked off his debut women’s wear collection with a horror film, setting an unexpected tone for the iconic brand.
Projected onto an inverted pyramid above the runway, the film portrayed Dior as a house haunted by its past creative giants—from Christian Dior himself to more recent names like Maria Grazia Chiuri—and by the immense pressure of public perception. It was a fast-paced montage, combining clips of fashion shows and famous ambassadors with unsettling flashes of blood, lightning, and screams, reminiscent of a high-octane mashup of Hitchcock and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’.
This cinematic introduction, crafted by British documentary filmmaker and social historian Adam Curtis, offered a whirlwind history of Dior while also subtly hinting that the fashion world has become a ruthless, cutthroat arena. It truly felt like ‘knives out’!
But it was also a bold declaration of Anderson’s vision. It subtly reminded the audience that while Dior might currently be perceived as a brand for conservative, refined elegance (think Melania Trump’s preferred Dior suits), Christian Dior’s original post-war collections were themselves quite shocking and extravagant. This set the stage for Anderson’s collection, which reimagined Dior not as a stuffy, historical institution, but as a vibrant, experimental ‘petri dish’ for new ideas.
Two looks, a blue evening dress adorned with primroses and a white bubble dress featuring hyacinths, gracefully paid homage to Mr. Dior’s well-known affection for flowers.
The collection itself felt less like a ready-to-wear proposal and more like a conceptual exploration of ‘Dior-isms’— familiar elements deconstructed, reassembled, and abstracted, liberated from historical constraints.
Classic Dior bar jackets were shrunken to doll-like proportions, symbolically reducing their imposing legacy, and paired with equally petite pleated skirts, creating a silhouette that, combined, matched the original jacket’s size. This was a clever touch. Other bar jackets featured their peplums dramatically reshaped into large, bow-like loops over the hips, worn with denim miniskirts – a decidedly more wearable interpretation.
The collection also featured sleeveless satin dresses with prominent, basket-weave skirts extending dramatically from the sides (a style already previewed on Anya Taylor-Joy at the Toronto International Film Festival). Then there were draped, off-the-shoulder jersey dresses stretched over what looked like bulbous panniers—or perhaps even rubber exercise balls? While these might photograph stunningly, on the runway they evoked an exaggerated, almost comically botched ‘Brazilian butt lift.’ A beautifully crafted A-line dress, made from hundreds of ivory beaded petals, offered a modern halter-neck twist on Dior’s iconic 1949 Junon gown, now housed at the Met’s Costume Institute.
The collection further explored a fascinating tension between formal evening wear and casual daywear. Knit capes, seen paired with jeans, made an appearance—a nod to Anderson’s earlier men’s wear show, which hinted at this collection’s direction. Miniskirts featured playful, duck-like frills at the back (mirroring cargo shorts from the men’s line, underscoring Anderson’s unique position as the first Dior creative director overseeing both men’s and women’s wear). Headwear ranged from designs resembling French military tricorns to the sleek wings of a supersonic jet. Many elements showcased Anderson’s signature design language, recognizable from his acclaimed work at Loewe and his eponymous label, JW Anderson.
This visual encapsulates the collection’s core theme: the captivating tension between elaborate dressing-up and effortless daywear, hallmarks of Jonathan Anderson’s fresh vision for Dior.
Overall, the collection exuded a long-absent playfulness at Dior, bringing a fresh, lighthearted spirit to the runway.
However, a distinct profile of the ‘Dior woman’ under Anderson’s direction remained somewhat elusive. It seems she’s someone who enjoys experimentation, defies traditional norms, and is certainly not the type to favor a classic Mrs. Trump-esque aesthetic.
During a preview, Anderson characterized the collection’s varied aesthetic as intentional, aiming to create a Dior that offered something for everyone. Yet, the execution sometimes felt more unfocused than deliberately diverse—and importantly, it wasn’t quite shocking or horrifying, despite the initial cinematic promise.
While it’s conceivable that some of Dior’s more traditional clientele might be unsettled, or even ‘clutch their pearls,’ a truly dramatic aesthetic revolution would likely be needed for that. (And realistically, traditional Dior pieces will undoubtedly remain available in stores.) Despite all the dramatic anticipation, this debut proved to be less frightening than expected. Still, in its own way, it was quite a ‘scream’.