A standing ovation for Jonathan Anderson’s womenswear debut at Dior

At a preview before the show, Anderson explained that “the video is about putting the elephant in the room. I wanted the audience to experience five minutes in my world, that I will force you to watch – that’s what it feels like, you know – so that’s the aim.” The 40-year-old Northern Irish fashion designer is heralded as one of the most influential and celebrated designers of his generation having turned Loewe into one of the most influential and desired fashion brands in the world. Having already kicked off a new era at the LVMH-owned Dior in June with his first menswear collection, Anderson will also take care of haute couture – the first time since founder Christian Dior himself that all of the house offerings fall under one person.

Yesterday saw his womenswear debut play out before a front-row that comprised France's current and former First Ladies, Brigitte Macron and Carla Bruni, alongside designer support from Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy, and a strong brand ambassador contingency including stalwart Jennifer Lawrence and newly appointed Dior muse, Greta Lee.

Anderson told press ahead of the show, “I wanted to make sure there were connections to the menswear line, because I feel like this will be Dior as one universe.” He explained the idea is, “we take the men’s opening-look jacket and rework the fit for women.”

Opening the show was a white bell-shaped dress pieced together on a diagonal, tied into two bows, with soft pleats twirling around the body. “It’s looking at the idea of the two tensions that I think lie within Dior itself and in where we are today,” Anderson explained, referencing also “the tension between dressing up and reality”. Alongside invention came icons. The Bar Jacket – which defined Dior’s 1950s New Look – came in a sparkly green Irish Donegal tweed and in different iterations throughout the show. Anderson did play with proportions, however, raising hems up at the back so that it sat outwards as a backward peplum and paired with a denim mini skirt. Blouses and shorts were also raised up, giving the impression of motion throughout the silhouette.

The more fantastical pieces appeared as dresses emulating Dior’s Cigale dress that embraced the same feminine silhouettes of the New Look. Elsewhere, cinched waists and large protruding waistlines, bubble dresses, and forget-me-not prints and embroideries on chiffon juxtaposed traditional codes of womenswear. Anderson gave special mention to a red satin pleated top with a high frill of lace half-covering the face and flowing down the back that derived from a dress that Anderson had come across from Saint Laurent’s time at the house, inspiring the highwayman-mask-like lace collar.

Anderson worked with the film director and close collaborator Luca Guadagnino to build the set for the show (a tried and tested creative relationship following Anderson’s costume designs for his films Queer and Challengers). In the middle of the cavernous space hung an inverted four-sided pyramid reminiscent of the one found at the Louvre bearing the screens for the film – a sign that Anderson clearly plans to bring former collaborators into the Dior fold.

Anderson’s new role is one of the two most important new appointments this Paris fashion week, the other being Matthieu Blazy for Chanel that will be revealed on Monday 6 October.

The Verdict:

The genius that is Jonathan Anderson is putting his own spin on Dior, from raising the bar – and hem lines – to creating something for everyone in the collection. As he said: “I don't want to create a clone zone, I want different women to engage with Dior.”