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Fashion United
a day ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Jonathan Anderson reboots Dior menswear with subtle subversion and commercial savvy
Jonathan Anderson walked on to the Dior stage on Friday with the hardest brief in luxury fashion: reignite a 9.5 billion euro powerhouse whose growth has begun to slow and whose identity, at least on the men's side, has drifted since the Hedi Slimane era. The 40-year-old Northern Irishman is hardly a novice. LVMH took a minority stake in his JW Anderson label in 2013 and, in the same breath, installed him at Loewe, where he built the once-sleepy Spanish brand into a cult enterprise (and created the Puzzle bag in the process). The inevitable next step, Dior, finally materialised this spring after a messy sequence of leaks: a departure from Loewe, an initial appointment to menswear, and, following Maria Grazia Chiuri's exit last month, full control of every Dior line. A marketing breadcrumb trail In the week before the show, Dior's image machine offered clues. American art royalty Jean-Michel Basquiat and socialite Lee Radziwill, both captured by Andy Warhol, floated across mood-board teasers. A shaky Super-8-style film lingered on peonies, a chateau and a wooden canoe adrift on still water. Viewers, like the canoe, were asked to wait. Context: revenue up, momentum down The waiting has had real-world stakes. Dior's turnover quadrupled between 2017 and 2023, yet HSBC flagged a slowdown from Q1 2024, citing consumer resistance perhaps to relentless price hikes and shifting priorites. Delphine Arnault, Dior's chief executive, now talks less about fireworks and more about 'quality and craft'. For Anderson, the unspoken mandate is clear: deliver covetable product, bags, sneakers, ready-to-wear, and a point of view that can translate into sustained demand. Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight The collection: Saltburn meets Warhol On the runway the pressure translated into nonchalance. Shirts half-tucked, collars popped, one trouser leg rolled, looks that recalled the louche decadence of Saltburn spliced with a Warholian downtown shrug. The tailoring, less razor-sharp than Slimane's fabled skinny suit, was offset by playful twists: a vampiric cape, a cable-knit in peony pink, Oscar-Wilde bows adorning the neck, coats in drapey tweeds. Anderson's British eccentricity surfaced in tailcoats fastened with Napoleonic buttons and the ubiquitous look of a chino and polo shirt was reimagined as a nod to aristocratic decay, pleated, loose, and worn with the ease of someone who has never had to try too hard. Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Were the cargo shorts and polos special? Perhaps not. But in their casual iteration they reset the palette, signalling that everyday wear is once again fair game for high fashion, and, crucially, high turnover. Commercial chess moves Accessories telegraphed intent: a hybrid sneaker-deck shoe, bright book bags, sweaters emblazoned with a refreshed lower-case Dior logo—bait for Gen Z and a lodestar for retail. Denim returned with pocket stitching first introduced by Slimane, proof that Anderson is willing to cannibalise house history where it works. And all this is only the start. By LVMH arithmetic Anderson will produce roughly 18 collections a year across men's, women's, leather goods and his own label, a workload that would fell lesser talents. Yet his track record suggests an ability to inject nuance into the mundane: tweak a heel, pop a collar, ignite a cash register. Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight What the creases say Christian Dior once championed post-war polish; Anderson's wrinkled shirts propose something different. Perhaps dressing up now feels performative, or perhaps life—pandemic, conflict, cost-of-living angst—is simply too short to iron. Either way, Anderson has staked out a fresh clearing in the Dior forest. The real test will be whether this studied casualness converts into queues outside the stores. In a year, the peonies, like the revenue charts, will show whether the house is blooming again. Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion United
Bagpipes and lace: Egonlab celebrates Brittany at Paris Fashion Week
Luxury label Egonlab presented its spring/summer 2026 collection on Wednesday as part of the FHCM programme, the official Paris Fashion Week schedule. Thirty-four silhouettes charmingly evoked Brittany's rich sartorial history, reflecting extensive research into the region's archives. Needle lace and porcelain shirts 'Rooted in Breton heritage, the collection blends coastal tradition with urban elegance', read Egonlab's show notes. For founders Florentin Glémarec and Kévin Nompeix, evoking Brittany was a tribute to their grandfather, René Glémarec. Brittany was also expressed in the detail of a bagpipe carried under the arm by several silhouettes in the show; in pointed ruffs that recalled details of Breton costumes; and through pieces of lace placed on the head, similar to the needle lace from the commune of Plougastel-Daoulas. Egonlab SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight There was also a sleeveless top with golden embroidery resembling that of a 'bigouden' costume preserved in the Finistère departmental archives. Egonlab SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Finally, the wide folded lapels were reminiscent of traditional Breton men's shirts or the wide-brimmed crossed shawls once worn by women. The final look was a trompe-l'œil piece made of porcelain with artist Flávio Juán Núñez. It was a loose, short-sleeved white shirt. Egonlab SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight The SS26 collection also saw the luxury brand launch several collaborations, including Havaianas flip-flops, Longchamp bags and Bearbrick accessories. Egonlab SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Egonlab SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight The richness of Breton clothing culture has been at the centre of luxury brand collections several times. One of the most memorable was perhaps French designer Jean Paul Gaultier's autumn/winter 2015 collection, whose show opened with the sound of a foghorn and the cries of seagulls, according to a report in Vogue magazine. It notably featured references to 'bigouden' headdresses and typical white embroidery. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion United
In Pictures: Wales Bonner celebrates 10 years with Y-3 collaboration
British brand Wales Bonner celebrated its 10-year anniversary by unveiling a series of collaborations at its Paris Fashion Week Men's show for the spring/summer 2026 season. The collection, 'Jewel', drew inspiration from 1930's evening wear and British sartorial traditions, evidenced in what were described as 'timeworn and treasured pieces'. Among the collaborations that made up much of the line was that of a new partnership with Y-3, the collaborative project by Adidas Originals and Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. (Right and centre) Wales Bonner's new collaboration with Y-3, (left) an updated version of the Adidas Originals by Wales Bonner Karintha Lo sneaker. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Alongside the more sportswear-focused brand, Wales Bonner reimagined archival silhouettes, such as the satin souvenir jacket and Y-3 Field shoe. The runway also welcomed an update to the Adidas Originals by Wales Bonner Karintha Lo sneaker, which was elevated in basket weave. The sports-centric designs sat alongside looks that tied in more closely to British prep, like cotton and merino polo shirts that were made in England in partnership with British knitwear designer John Smedley. Wales Bonner SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight This cooperation with local craftsmen continued into Wales Bonner's eveningwear selection of wool and silk tailcoats, created in collaboration with Savile Row tailors Anderson and Sheppard. Accessories only further cemented the designer's fervour for teamwork. Wales Bonner turned to British milliner Stephen Jones to help create diamond baobab-flower brooches and berets, which adorned various looks that they sometimes even coordinated with. Wales Bonner SS26. Credits: Wales Bonner. Wales Bonner SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Wales Bonner SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion United
Egonlab pays homage to Breton craftsmanship at Paris Fashion Week
Paris – Exaggerated shirt points, jackets transforming into hoods, and lace headdresses: the creators of French brand Egonlab reinterpreted Breton artisanal heritage on Wednesday at their spring/summer 2026 menswear show during Paris Fashion Week. The design duo, Florentin Glémarec and Kévin Nompeix, presented a unisex show, with impeccably cut suits and turned-up cuffs for both men and women, complete denim ensembles with cowboy boots, and dolls matching the shirt prints. 'The inspiration for this collection is actually a tribute to Florentin's grandfather, who passed away. He was Egonlab's inspiration and the one who made the brand take off and become internationally known,' Nompeix explained to AFP. Egonlab. Spring/Summer 2026, Menswear. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight. 'We returned to all those Breton roots; we reinvented the bigoudène [Breton headdress] with veils,' he added. 'We also revisited something natural: sea foam, a slightly greenish touch for the seaweed, pebbles, and the black and white for the flag, which we haven't forgotten,' he continued. Egonlab. Spring/Summer 2026, Menswear. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight. He highlighted the final piece, a spectacular induction-cooked earthenware cape, which gave it a porcelain-like appearance and required 315 hours of work, the designers explained. 'It's a piece of haute couture. It gives us ideas for the future,' Nompeix predicted. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Fashion United
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion United
Saint Laurent takes men to the seventies; Louis Vuitton proposes eclecticism
Designer Anthony Vaccarello's seventies-inspired vision for Saint Laurent's menswear collection and the eclectic musical celebration from Louis Vuitton, under the ever-restless direction of Pharrell Williams, marked the first day of Paris Men's Fashion Week. 'For summer 2026, Anthony Vaccarello evokes a moment suspended in time (...) where escape becomes elegance, and desire becomes a language,' explained the collection's press release. High-waisted, slim-fitting trousers, paired with shirts featuring wide shoulder pads, two flap pockets, and ties invariably tucked inside, were presented in a slow, deliberate manner. Saint Laurent SS26 menswear. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight. Semi-transparent turtleneck polos, sometimes combined with a foulard, and the traditional trench parka, one of Yves Saint Laurent's signature pieces, also featured. The colour palette was predominantly soft: apple green, various shades of mauve, combined across blouses, trousers, and belts, as well as sky blue. Men in shorts, nonchalantly paired with double-breasted blazers, always with wide shoulders, also appeared. 'The silhouettes are sculpted, not exaggerated,' Vaccarello explained in his statement of intent. A burgundy half-zip raincoat also stood out. The show took place at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, which has been converted into a centre for billionaire François Pinault's contemporary art collection. The models walked around a water installation by French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, consisting of a huge, 18-metre diameter basin filled with water and a blue bottom, in which porcelain bowls floated and collided with each other. Saint Laurent SS26 menswear. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight. Among the notable guests were film director Francis Ford Coppola and actors Rami Malek and Sam Rockwell. Yearning to explore Louis Vuitton SS26 menswear. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight. Designer and musician Pharrell Williams invited his fans and friends to a large party outside the Centre Georges Pompidou, which was closed for refurbishment. Williams makes no secret of the fact that the French brand's menswear shows are a pretext for his restless spirit and desire to explore. There is no clear line, but rather a desire to offer the full palette of possibilities for dressing the monogram brand's fans. Cotton, synthetic, or corduroy suits with flared trousers; multi-striped shirts; an explosion of colours; and a juxtaposition of accessories, from thick neck chains to caps, rings, and leather bags shaped like small spaceships. Louis Vuitton SS26 menswear. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight. Louis Vuitton SS26 menswear. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight. In front of celebrities such as Beyoncé, her husband Jay Z, Bradley Cooper, and Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, Williams alternated shorts with parkas, sweatshirts with loafers and long socks. There were metallic raincoats and well-padded anoraks, in case the customer decides to venture into colder climates. Thick-soled sandals, cream-coloured cargo trousers, and leather jackets for those opting for a safari look were also presented. Williams used a gospel choir and a large orchestra for the show, as on previous occasions, with a wide musical palette, from classical to Japanese hip hop. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
