Jonathan Anderson for Dior was a calculated, slightly dishevelled debut

The Hindu

4 hours ago

The most eagerly anticipated show of Paris Fashion Week landed quietly but assuredly with Jonathan Anderson's debut for Dior Homme.
Front-row seats at the Hôtel National des Invalides were filled by fashion powerhouses and cultural icons alike: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, Sabrina Carpenter, and Daniel Craig, all lending star wattage to the occasion. After being named artistic director of Dior womenswear just weeks prior, Anderson becomes the first designer since Christian Dior himself to oversee everything: menswear, womenswear, and haute couture at the LVMH flagship.
This was not a show trying to impress with scale. It whispered its point, trusting you were listening.
The Dior tailoring —impeccable, still — was softened, made breathable. Jackets retained their lines, but with a shrug. Trousers came with a drop down crotch and relaxed, more exhale than exclamation. This was Jonathan Anderson doing what he does best: filtering heritage through instinct, turning formality into something that breathes.
'It's like pulling your favourites from a wardrobe,' says Akshay Tyagi, Mumbai-based celebrity stylist. 'It's got a bit of edge. It's got panache. But it's also easy and chill.' That balance is the essence of what Anderson delivered.
Past meets present
The official Dior press note framed it as 'a spontaneous, empathetic collusion of then and now… a reconstruction of formality' and that was clear. Donegal tweeds, regimental neckties, and 18th-century-style waistcoats were reinterpreted, not just revived. Diorette charms, delicate florals, and embroidery hinted at Monsieur Dior's love for Rococo romanticism and British culture, but were deployed with a kind of self-aware restraint.
'There's a youthful energy here,' says Dheeraj Reddy, Mumbai-based fashion creator. 'The reconstructed suit shorts, oversized bow ties and flowing capes were sharp but whimsical.' Dheeraj points to the cropped blazers and structured shopper bags as future must-haves. Meanwhile, the military jackets brought back a touch of Kris Van Assche-era (artistic director for Dior Homme from 2007 to 2018) structure, but less rigid.
Arson Nicki, a US-based fashion commentator, calls it 'the strongest debut at a couture house in quite some time.' He cites the first look — imperial collars, bar-jacket silhouettes, sculpted cargo shorts, and fisherman sandals — as a thesis in itself. 'It was unmistakably Dior, but also recognisably Jonathan Anderson,' he adds. 'Anachronistic and of-the-moment; challenging and immediate.'
Still, one could not ignore the elephant — or rather, the heatwave — in the room.
Europe has been burning through summers in recent years, which made Anderson's use of heavy outerwear — full-length capes, trench coats, and tailored layers — feel at odds with the spring/summer label. Strip it down, though, and there is plenty that works: tailored striped shorts, cropped waistcoats, and a standout white jumpsuit that looked like it was plucked from naval history.
The white jumpsuit with the black tie and backpack, which could be a hit among GenZ, was a sleek fashion moment—it echoed the union suit, a one-piece undergarment worn by sailors and workers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Anderson's version, minimalist and sharply cut, felt like a modern-day wink to that utilitarian history. Less costume, more quiet reference.
It is safe to say the collection flirted with commercial polish, occasionally wavering between clarity and contradiction. There were shades of Hedi Slimane-era Dior Homme in there — boyish, skinny, insouciant — but Anderson's voice stayed intact.
A first show does not have to solve it all. Anderson's Dior debut was a careful tune-up. A calculated start for a new chapter —one that may speak louder with time. And in a market that is shifting fast towards quiet luxury, modular dressing, and stylistic fluidity, this collection feels future-proof.