Jonathan Anderson at Dior – Collection Review Spring/Summer 2026
It was the most hyped runway show of the year – Jonathan Anderson’s debut collection for Dior womenswear. The critics and fashion press loved his Spring/Summer 2026 ready-to-wear collection – but was this surprising? These were exactly the people who had created the hype leading up to the show. Right after the show, the internet blew up with dividing views on the collection – some loved it, many hated it. It is safe to say that this was not only the most hyped but also the most polarizing show of the year.
You can also watch my collection review here:
After Maria Grazia Chiuri had left the brand, I was curious to see Jonathan Anderson’s Dior. The designer was the one who put Loewe, a rather unknown Spanish brand, on the fashion map – not only thanks to his famous Puzzle Bag but also because of his design aesthetics. The brand soon built up a large following – and so did he. Until he took over at Dior, Anderson was not only the creative director at Loewe but also ran his own brand (which he still continues to do.) At Dior, he is in charge of all of the Maison’s lines – a first since Christian Dior himself. Because of this comprehensive task, Anderson is also often being compared to the late Karl Lagerfeld – I will not go into the discussion whether this is a valid comparison or not. One thing is worth noticing about Anderson: He is one of the few designers who managed to build up a big following, a tribe – some may even say a “cult”. No matter what we think about his current designs for Dior, or his previous ones at Loewe, he deserves credit for his business acumen and ability to position himself in times when brands prefer interchangeable creative directors.
Alba Rohrwacher in Jonathan Anderson for Dior.
Anderson offered a sneak peek into the collection before the runway show with several red carpet looks which already polarized. While the fashion press and critics praised him, many people online were underwhelmed, some ridiculed. Alba Rohrwacher in a dark blue gown with heavily accentuated hips and Anya Taylor Joy in a dress with an interwoven lower part, two name two, left many with question marks? Why the big hips? Are the interwoven elements really Dior or rather Bottega Veneta? Exactly these looks, or versions of them, were also included in the pret-à-porter collection. They were not the ones which stood out or made headlines after the runway show.
Anya Taylor Joy in Jonathan Anderson for Dior.
According to Vogue, John Galliano, one of Anderson’s predecessors, had an informal meeting with him and advised to “don’t kick against the traces of the past too much. Work with them.[1]”[2] And this is what Anderson did and it is clearly reflected in the collection where he reinterpreted some icons and codes of the Maison.
The first look of the collection was a tribute to the bow and a new interpretation of Dior’s New Look.
His very first look could be interpreted as a modern version of Dior’s “New Look” dresses. However, Anderson’s waistline is broader. He added bows at the top and at the bottom connecting the drape across the body. The idea itself is interesting, however, when the models moved, the looked a bit “stiff” and I would assume that sitting in it is quite uncomfortable. This goes against the designer’s intention: On the one hand, Anderson rejects the corset which was so typical, and required, for the silhouette of the New Look. He obviously wants to allow for more freedom of movement, but this version is not very practical either.
Jisoo in a reinterpretation of a dress from the Fall/Winter 1954 collection.
The bow is an important symbol for the Dior brand, as Monsieur Dior loved to add bows to his designs. Until today, the bow is a signature detail on the bottle of the Miss Dior perfume. Ahead of the show, Dior published a video with the brand ambassador Jisoo on their Instagram. She wore a pale green dress with a big bow in front – a reference to Dior’s Fall/Winter 1954 collection. Anderson changed the skirt and made it longer and removed the rim at the top part. A nice design and the same bow detail was also taken up on the miniskirts of the collection – again, nothing groundbreaking, but I appreciated this detail. Other bow versions were put on blouses, shirts or skirts. Some references were about the details. In addition to the bows, Anderson worked with florals – another staple of Monsieur Dior.
Jonathan Anderson’s version of a Dior icon.
When working with the archives, it is no surprise that Anderson also referenced Dior’s famous Bar jacket, one of the most famous garments in fashion history which also lay the groundwork for Dior’s New Look. (Learn more about the history of this iconic design here.). As mentioned in my other articles and videos about Maria Grazia Chiuri: I think we have seen enough of this Bar jacket. Furthermore, I am not a big fan of Anderson’s contemporary interpretation. His intention was, similar to his predecessor Maria Grazia Chiuri, that he refuses to put women back into corsets – I applaud him for that. Moreover, Anderson is known for his unique cuts and shapes. But to be perfectly honest with you, I find this ensemble highly unflattering. I get the idea, but I do not like it – no matter what the fashion press and critics think. This jacket and skirt already look unflattering on the models – what will they look like on “real women”?
The 2025-version of the famous Junon-dress.
There was yet another icon which has been repeatedly referenced in the recent past: The “Junon” dress and its sister dress, the Vénus. We could now say the same as about the Bar suit – it is enough. But I appreciated Anderson’s take on it: the Junon-reference is subtle and the details looked beautiful.
A beautiful ready-to-wear interpretation of the Junon/Vénus dresses.
There was yet another mini-dress which was a nod to the Junon and Vénus and this was one of the best looks of the collection. Unfortunately, this design which came in two colours has been completely ignored by the fashion press. I would have appreciated more designs just like this one: The nod to the heritage of the Maison is clear while it looks very contemporary with a signature Anderson-twist.
A reinterpretation of a 2005 Galliano dress (right).
Anderson referenced not only the obvious icons by Christian Dior himself but also the previous creative directors. The idea was similar to Demna Gvasalia’s first release for Gucci, nevertheless, in Anderson’s case it felt not only a bit more genuine but also more than just a re-issue of past designs of the brand. There were two references of John Galliano dresses from Fall 2005 – and I do not know about you, but it gives me “Maria Grazia vibes”.
Galliano’s original from Fall 2005.
The original is very opulent – Galliano’s handwriting is very clear. The Spring/Summer 2026 version comes with a narrower shape; obviously without a corset. Even though it is quieter than the original, anyone who wears this will stand out in the crowd. This is a dress which makes people look – but if everyone is already looking anyways, why not go for the even bolder original? I appreciated that the brand pointed out the Chantilly Lace on their Instagram account to showcase the craftsmanship and details – this type of lace is very intricate and expensive to make and the brand put a spotlight on French craftsmanship.
Contemporary versions of Roger Vivier designs – the shoe designer collaborated with the Maison for a long time.
The designer not only referred to previous creative directors, he also reinterpreted designs by Roger Vivier who collaborated with the house of Dior for a long time. Anderson’s versions of the original pumps – one with a fan-detail and one with small bows which almost look like rabbit ears, are a very successful contemporary tribute of the French shoe designer and celebrate to long-term collaboration of the two houses.
Dior Spring/Summer 2026.
While this was a very positive moment, Anderson’s interpretation of a design by Yves Saint Laurent for Dior from the Fall 1959 collection fell short. The reference is obvious – a black veil. What feels light and easy in the original, appears forced, even scary, in the contemporary interpretation. Scary does not necessarily mean bad – fashion can and should trigger emotions no matter if they are positive or negative. Nevertheless, this was just too dominant and – let’s say it – ugly. There is most likely some kind of intention or message behind it, but it does not come across.
While the composition of the original builds a whole and flows easily, this version looks as if random items have been put together and then topped off with this strangely shaped hat. This hat was a detail praised by many critics and journalists. I have to disagree: What is “Dior” about them? I do not think that many people will actually buy and wear these hats. Furthermore, the overall styling was bad – the floral shoes are, yet again, a nod to Christian Dior, but this could not save them either. It looked as if the models walked on high-heeled house slippers. If Virginie Viard had styled her designs like Anderson did for this collection, people would have crucified her. I wonder why Jonathan Anderson is getting away with this?
Puffy miniskirts – will they work beyond social media?
Among the many references of his predecessors, Anderson also reinterpreted the Spring 2013 collection by Raf Simons. Firstly, Raf Simons’s work has to be into context: He succeeded the uber-glamorous, yet polarizing Galliano and his simple designs were a complete antidote to his predecessor’s. The Simons collection in question may not be my all-time favourite, but also the skirt-version of Anderson does not achieve in improvement. It is actually rather unewearable. The puffy miniskirts may work to shoot a video for social media, but I doubt that anyone would wear them on a daily basis.
Athleisure by Dior…
Another issue was that there were items which may be sold by high stree or even fast-fashion brands – the pastel-coloured polos and pants (for which Anderson is known), the jeans skirts with frayed hems are items for which we probably do not need to go to Dior. And then, yet again, there is athleisure. It seems that designers still equal “wearability” with this hideous trend: Cycling shorts paired with what looks like button down tops. And of course, there are sweat pants. Who does not need a branded pair of sweatpants? As the collection is not available in stores as yet, the prices of Anderson’s designs have not been revealed either. Currently, there are some sweatpants on the online Dior store and they retail for over USD 3,000 which can be seen as a hint at the price point for these new designs. The Dior customer probably wants something comfortable when they board a plane to go on holiday. I guess there have to be buyers for that, otherwise they would not keep releasing new sweatpant versions…
Chanel or Dior?
The dresses with black ribbons gave a Chanel-esque feeling. Funnily enough, these Chanel-esque designs were the garments I liked most. But they also reminded me of my major criticism of Virginie Viard at Chanel, especially for the styling. The outfits look as if items have been just piled on top of each other to create as many things the brand can sell as possible. These looks have to be taken apart, dissected so that we can judge wether we like the individual pieces. To be fair, many of these individual pieces looked nice, but the bad styling distracted from them.
One last note: Similar to so many other shows, it was very sad to see a monotony in terms of body types. It feels like a big step backwards and the garments may have been received differently, if they had been presented in a more diverse and realistic way. This is not exclusive to Dior, across the brands during the past fashion month there was a lack in diversity of body types.
What is my verdict? I had not been a Jonathan Anderson fan girl before he joined Dior and I was waiting to see if he could convince to join the tribe. Could he? It is still a no. The idea of referencing the past of the brand including his predecessors was nice, but working with the archives alone simply is not enough. Given the hype around Anderson, I was underwhelmed by the collection. If we had seen this very same collection at, let’s say Chanel under Viard, the comment sections would have exploded and she would have been criticised like there was no tomorrow. This collection, yet again, left me with the question “why”? Why do some designers seem to get away with anything, while others are judged in a much harder way. In a lot of ways, fashion can sometimes be like art: Some people see the artist first and then try to justify their work. But let’s not lose hope – I think there is still potential for Jonathan Anderson at Dior, let’s wait and see.
Footnotes
[1] Vogue Runway 2025.
[2] ibid.
Sources
Vogue Runway, Christian Dior, Spring Ready-to-Wear 2026, by Jonathan Anderson, published on 1 October 2025, by Sarah Mower, last accessed on 20 October 2025.
Sources Title Image
Dior Official Website
Disclaimer
This article is based on the personal, views, experiences and research of the author, no fees were received by the organisations and people mentioned above. All information is alleged, as of the date of publishing/updating and for entertainment purposes only.
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