Just like the men’s collection earlier this year, Dior is once again merging spectacle with intimacy. Guests arrived by car, some even stepping into the atelier itself to witness the craft behind the looks before they walked the runway. From the beginning, it was clear this would not just be a presentation – it was an experience.
The opening set the tone: pangs of light and sound, the mechanical hum of a machine, a cinematic descent into an upside-down, Louvre-like pyramid. At its vertex, an open Dior box. Images flickered in reverse, screams that did not frighten but reset the atmosphere. The gentle ghost of Dior’s past projected its legacy: the Dior of the before. And then, the show began.
From the first looks, Jonathan Anderson’s fingerprints were everywhere. Shirts appeared almost immediately – a long time obsession of his – but here they were transformed within the codes of Dior. Chunky, embellished knits carried his unmistakable sculptural sensibility, yet were anchored firmly in the New Look silhouette. Anderson treats fabric like clay, moulding inflated hips, sculptural folds, and shrunken co-ords that make the silhouette both familiar and shockingly new.
The dialogue between Dior’s heritage and Anderson’s irreverence carried throughout. Hats crowned preppy, tailored looks; sharp jackets and nipped waists suddenly gave way to denim mini skirts. Was it playful? Yes. Was it Dior? Somehow, entirely. The bar jacket appeared in unexpected guises – sliced with cut-outs, paired with twill mini-skirt co-ords – a constant reinvention of the house’s holy garment.
Accessories spoke with equal force. The Lady Dior appeared double-folded, worn with a single strap, instantly contemporary. Metal straps spelled out “D I O R” with a brash clarity. And then there were the shoes: thick, chunky, unlike anything Dior has shown before. They felt radical, yet oddly right, as if approved by Dior’s ghost himself.
The dresses unfolded in a lexicon of lightness and movement. Balloon lace hems, translucent draping, bows stretched diagonally across sheer fabrics. Capes swept dramatically, scarf tunics, while slit tunics and petal dresses kept the mood airy. A flowy light blue gown, with its stringy skirt, seemed to epitomize the show’s surprising sense of comfort. Dior looked wearable, even relaxed, without losing an ounce of elegance.
Anderson’s sculptural mastery was on full display. Fabric was twisted, layered, inflated, and folded into new volumes, a kind of living architecture. The inflated hips, the genius shrunken co-ords, the diagonal symmetry of bows, the balloon hems that no one saw coming, all revealed a hand confident in reshaping heritage.
In the end, the word that best defined the collection was smart. Smart in its reworking of house codes. Smart in its balance between Dior’s history and Anderson’s daring. Smart in its understanding that comfort and elegance can coexist.
This was Dior’s “New New Look”: sculptural, wearable, witty, and deeply inspired. And in a surprising twist, it wasn’t just the gowns that stole the show. For the first time, the bags and the shoes, chunky, folded, sculptural, became, as well, objects of true desire.
For more stories of international fashion, visit our dedicated pages and follow us on Instagram.
