Jonathan Anderson's latest haute couture collection for Dior drew inspiration from American sculptor Lynda Benglis, whose sensual, slumped metal forms translated into liquid silver skirts and dripping chiffon hems. The show, held in a wooden pavilion at the Rodin Museum gardens, featured a soundtrack of fluttering paper fans and silhouettes that seemed to melt in the Paris heat.
Anderson, who recently designed Taylor Swift's wedding dress, declined to discuss the gown, stating only, 'It was a big honour... It will all come out in due course.' Instead, he focused on Benglis, calling her 'a genius' and 'well before her time.' The collection included an IYKYK reference to Benglis's 1974 self-portrait 'Centrefold,' though the image was blurred to avoid offending potential clients.
High-Concept Meets Razzmatazz
The collection blended high-concept artistry with glamour. A silver-foiled petal skirt shimmered like molten lava, while a Bar jacket trailed chiffon threads like ice-cream drips. Anderson's strategy of injecting offbeat energy into the historic house is paying off, with celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter and Josh O'Connor in attendance.
The first look featured a floppy satin shirt with black plisse trousers, an oversized shearling shawl, and an acorn-shaped bonnet. But there was also pure glamour: a silver lamé bustier dress with an outsize bow, a peach silk evening gown, and a sculpted hourglass jacket in silk jacquard embossed with ferns.
Wedding Dress Finale
As tradition dictates, the show closed with a wedding dress: a strapless pearl column veiled in hand-pleated chiffon adorned with white feather dandelions and embroidered cactus flowers. However, it was not the Dior wedding dress everyone hoped to see—Anderson kept Swift's gown under wraps.
The collection continues Dior's tradition of centering female artists, following predecessor Maria Grazia Chiuri's focus on figures like ceramicist Magdalene Odundo. Anderson's haute couture operates as both a high-rolling play for mass-culture attention and a laboratory for artistic expression, with evening bags crafted from 18th-century Indian chintz fabric.
