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Lii Spring 2026 Menswear Collection
Lii Spring 2026 Menswear Collection

Vogue

time13 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Vogue

Lii Spring 2026 Menswear Collection

Zane Li is settling into the Paris of it all after trading the Big Apple for the City of Light earlier this year. This was his second menswear collection, having tried the category for size last season. So far, so good. It was once again Li's technical curiosity that guided his lineup, itself propelled by research the designer did within pockets of archetypal menswear, he explained at a preview. Namely, Li looked at officewear, swimwear, sporting looks, and other sartorial spaces that are regimented by pragmatism rather than play or aesthetics, as much of menswear often is. Yet Li has a knack for imbuing a sense of whimsy into these simple and familiar styles. He said his research was not era-specific, though the influence of the '70s, '80s, and early '90s was clear through most of his output. 'There's a bit of aggression that feels quite [fitting] for the world right now,' he said of some of these sportswear and rock 'n' roll references. What that is, really, is a sense of macho; an unrelenting masculinity that Li said he was keen to design against. 'I'm more interested in the positive side of men,' he continued, 'the soft, modest side.' This idea was most evident, and translated most effectively, in a series of shirting and suiting cut out of sheer nylon in sweet pastel colors. Li also layered tank tops and T-shirts, expanding on some of his ideas from last season, in primary colors that when seen together on the same rack transmitted a similar comforting feeling with the naïveté—and color story, even—of an old school Fisher Price toy or Lego set. A recurring idea here, Li said, was to 'make the shorts disappear.' These were microscopic, as they have been in most collections this season. He hid them under blazers and nylon windbreakers. The effect was somewhat retro—and sexy in the same way that those tiny, and very revealing, running shorts from the '80s are in hindsight, but it felt modern in the way the eroticism was softer and more subtle. This is what gives Li an edge—his potential as a designer hinges on the way his curiosity isn't nostalgic or overly referential. His ideas feel new.

‘Even Paris taxi drivers have opinions on Dior': Jonathan Anderson makes his debut
‘Even Paris taxi drivers have opinions on Dior': Jonathan Anderson makes his debut

Telegraph

time14 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Telegraph

‘Even Paris taxi drivers have opinions on Dior': Jonathan Anderson makes his debut

For someone making his debut on the world stage in the biggest job in fashion, embarking on a volume of work that's almost unheard of, 40-year-old Irishman Jonathan Anderson was cheerfully relaxed on the morning of his inaugural men's show at Dior. In the citadel of a show venue that Dior has installed against the gold-gilt majesty of the Hôtel des Invalides, he swerves a van that's offloading provisions and swings open its doors unexpectedly, threatening to fell Dior's new all-powerful creative director before he's even begun. 'That wouldn't have been a great start,' he jokes. Then it's down to business curating the biggest moment of his life so far. Anderson's been up until dawn – a celebrity fitting with a star renowned for her elastic take on time (we wager Rihanna, who was front row at the show) – but he's fizzing with energy about this momentous day. It's certainly seismic in terms of fashion. In February, he was announced as the new creative head of Dior Men, later confirming that he would take over not just the menswear but the women's ready-to-wear, couture, resort collections and accessories. That might sound standard, but it's not – houses traditionally split the workload of the two, and Dior is a French national treasure with the output to match. No designer has worked at this prolific level since Karl Lagerfeld, who famously split his time between Chanel, designing for Fendi, and his own line. Anderson's aware of what has gone before: John Galliano's infamous departure from the house following an anti-Semitic rant, which he later claimed was the result of a substance abuse-fuelled, cataclysmic burnout. But if he has butterflies at the task ahead, he's not showing it. 'I can't say that I'm not nervous or I'm not petrified – this is Dior and we are in France after all – but I'm really focusing on trying to enjoy it. I'm relaxed, I'm ready,' he says. You'd be forgiven for having not heard of Anderson before, but in fashion terms he's revered. After starting his own namesake label in London, a tenure at Spanish house Loewe, owned by Bernard Arnault-run parent house LVMH duly followed in 2014. It resulted in a full Loewe-vication of fashion, creating a greatest hits seller of an accessory (a must at LVMH) in terms of the Puzzle bag and enlisting a constellation of artists, craft collaborations and stars, including the most recent ad campaign with Daniel Craig. The bosses were watching – the Succession -like brood that is the Arnaults – and towards the end of 2024 rumours swirled that Delphine Arnault, daughter of the founder, and Dior CEO, was planning to chopper him into the house, replacing men's creative head Kim Jones and womenswear designer Maria Grazia Chiuri. All caught up? A plucky Irish fellow (the son of former Irish rugby captain Willie Anderson), with the lilting accent to match, taking over the most storied and romantic of couture houses in Paris made for quite the fashion fairy tale. Anderson began as a London menswear designer talent, so it was kismet that his first collection would be a men's one. 'I had the idea of this gang of guys, a little bit Sorbonne, a little bit Jean-Luc Godard. I wanted formality, a take on history and mixing it with a kind of personal style,' comments Anderson of the collection, which mixed historic references such as the Court of Versailles with traditional Donegal tweed, sculpted into his own riff on the iconic Dior Bar jacket, the shape that became a signature of the house in 1947. 'It was important to open the show with Donegal tweed; I'm Irish obviously, and Dior used it in his first two collections,' he explains. 'Then I paired it with these ballooning cotton drill cargo trousers that use 15 metres of fabric folded like layers of cake in squares.' The trousers, coincidentally, were inspired by the folds in Dior's 1948 Delft dress. 'An incredible work of engineering,' says Anderson; the trousers have the appearance of panniers for men. Other elements in the collection subtly reference Dior's original emblems and signatures for the most feminine of couture houses; roses worked into woven embroidery in waistcoats that nod to Louis XIV rococo pomp, embroidered on knits, balanced with rougher pieces such as heavy wool coats and undone trainers. Jeans slung on hips, worn with moccasins, contrasted with very formal black tie with plumes of silk bows and collars at the neck, perhaps more of a styling flex rather than reality dressing. Military frock coats with frogging and epaulettes were juxtaposed with fisherman sandals ('It's that sense of savoir faire but grounded in today's world,' says Anderson). The Bar jacket interpretation was an interesting proposal for men; sculptural but still lean on the body. Anderson has spoken about his love of Dracula – he's used the cover for the novel and printed it on Dior's book bag; perhaps there was something of the Count in the knitted capes. 'I collect men's fashion pieces from the 18th century and you can find radical clothing from that time in terms of fabrication and colour,' says Anderson. 'There's modernity with the old. It's about not being scared of the past. History maketh the brand.' And profits maketh the LVMH designer, which is why Anderson has focused on the iconic Lady Dior bag – the distinctive, quilted bag that Princess Diana helped put on the map – has been rendered anew by artist Sheila Hicks, with upholstery tassels (artist collaboration being something of an Anderson hallmark). Within the venue space, two 18th-century paintings by Chardin were displayed (on loan). These are favourites of Anderson's and lent a curated, gallery feel rather than thrumming, full-throttle show experience like those of old. The more opulent elements – a severe coat in metallic gold thread, woven capes, those embroidered waistcoats and frou-frou blouses – were countered by loveworn denim jeans, slouching knitwear and jolts of electric colour. Grey was a theme, being a hallmark of the house; 'it gives this incredible depth of colour,' explains Anderson, and a classic grey flannel suit closed the show. The groundswell of support from designers front row, including Donatella Versace, Pierpaolo Picciolo, Silvia Fendi, Pharrell Williams, proved the point that Anderson is a designer's designer. The collection was nuanced in its stories and various themes, telling variants of the Dior mythology, and while the subversive quirkiness that worked at Loewe was dialled way back, that feels correct at Dior. It's a house that's more formal and mannered, and the eveningwear with silk neck scarves or bows were chic without being peacock. The weight of history is palpable; only a rarefied handful of designers have occupied a position like this. But Anderson is quietly methodical and ambitious; he's got the rollout of each new collection meticulously planned. 'There are five shows to come [in the next year], where each will show different aspects of the house, some will contradict it, some will go along with it, some will be radical. To me it's about establishing a language,' he says. It's quite a legacy to inherit, from Monsieur Dior to Galliano, and the other designers who created their own interpretation of the house. 'I looked at everyone. Hedi [Slimane], Raf [Simons], Marc Bohan, John [Galliano],' says Anderson. 'My approach is that you have to de-code to re-code Dior. Some of the greatest designers in history have worked here and it's not about chopping it all down, it's about rebirth within itself. It's bigger than me, it transcends this moment.'

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