The Irish designer makes his Dior debut with a colorful, Regency-tinged menswear collection in Paris.
The Spring / Summer 2026 menswear shows hit the Parisian runways last week, and no collection was more fervently awaited than Jonathan Anderson’s debut for Dior. Spearheading Spanish label Loewe for eleven years, Anderson was recently tapped as the creative director of womenswear, menswear and couture for the French house, bringing along his particular brand of charming, idiosyncratic style. On June 27th, the Irish designer unveiled his debut menswear collection, drawing inspiration from literary classics, Rococo art and architecture, and the opulent bygone fashions of the British aristocracy.
Supporters of both Dior and Anderson in attendance were such as Daniel Craig, Sabrina Carpenter, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Ethel Cain, Dan Levy and Italian film director Luca Guadagnino, for whom Anderson served as costume designer on his acclaimed 2024 films Challengers and Queer. Also notably present were Anderson’s Loewe muses, actors Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, and Drew Starkey, whom he costumed for Guadagnino’s aforementioned films. Human stars were not the only inspirations in attendance; Anderson loaned two Jean Siméon Chardin paintings from the Musée du Louvre and the National Galleries of Scotland to adorn the cool, gray walls, offering a baroque splash of color and artistic pedigree.
With this sweeping array of cultural allusions, Anderson sets out to “[stretch] the horizon: [playing] on history and affluence, decoding the language of the House in order to recode it.” In this effort, Anderson’s collection derives from archival fabrics while introducing bold new creations; he ‘stretches’ from the formality of Christian Dior’s initial mission while always respecting its codes. This is perhaps no more apparent than in Anderson’s conscious return to the original logo used by Mr. Dior himself, or in his reference of La Cigale design, which Anderson views as “one of the greatest feats of engineering in terms of a dress.”
Models donned Regency-era waistcoats, large silky bow ties that bloomed like white roses, and baggy light-wash denim; others were draped in flowing Bohemian shawls and cable-knit sweaters. The devil is in the details, with “[roses], little embroideries, and Diorette charms with a rococo feel […]” Artist Sheila Hicks even transformed the recognizable Lady Dior bag into a tasseled treat, “cloaked in a nest of pure linen ponytails.” Like a preppy Easter brunch cross-pollinated with Autumn de Wilde’s pastel-tinged adaptation of Emma, the colorful medley of disparate aesthetics just somehow works.
The social media rollout for Anderson’s debut Dior collection was both fresh and nostalgic, harkening back to an era of Tumblr-vintage mood boards. Anderson introduced his vision by repurposing Andy Warhol portraits of two pop culture luminaries: socialite Lee Radziwill and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Anderson harnessed their aura of sprezzatura to evoke an atmosphere of unspoken, unquestioned luxury. Remarking on the decision, Anderson mused, “As I started out on this journey, I kept returning to these photographs of Basquiat and Radziwill, who are both, for me, the epitome of style.” Overlaying the portraits with a white Dior logo, the effect feels kismet; Anderson almost dares viewers to dispute the idea that they were never Dior ads to begin with, lying in wait.
With a first look at the collection, Anderson fashioned a modern muse out of Kylian Mbappé, dressing the French footballer in crisp, timeless looks. In one video clip, Mbappé flashes a sheepish smile as he fumbles with his bow tie. Imperfectly tied but going with it, he cocks his head to the side, slyly declaring ‘Dior.’ In another, he shrugs himself assuredly into a gray herringbone wool coat, his outfit a clear allusion to the Basquiat portrait. In both, his demeanor brings an air of accessible confidence. “Kylian Mbappé is the voice of a generation and an inspiration to many people in the world of sport and beyond,” Anderson remarked of his choice of muse.
The rollout suggested a more conservative, understated ode to 1980s yuppie style, but the collection also bursts forth like a sexy, trim Jane Austen costume drama. It is more akin to Sofia Coppola’s punkishly anachronistic Marie Antoinette than a vintage J. Crew catalog. Anderson “[toys] with clothes and the idea of the aristocrat;” his Mr. Darcy opts for shirtlessness and baggy jeans under his staid tailcoat. Continuing this train of literary influence, the Dior Book Totes feature Saint-Pères editions of Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal and Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood; the crossbody bag summons Bram Stoker’s Gothic vampire romance, Dracula. Anderson reminds us that inspiration comes from all corners of art and culture, bleeding together vibrantly and unexpectedly.
With an unapologetic joie de vivre and patchwork mentality alluded to with the repurposed Warhol portraits, Anderson seeks the “[joy] in the art of dressing: a spontaneous, empathetic collusion of then and now, of relics of the past, things rediscovered in the archives, classic tropes of class, and pieces that have endured the test of time.”
Homepage Daniel Craig. Top left Luca Guadagnino, middle A$AP Rocky and Rihanna, right Sabrina Carpenter. All imagery courtesy of Dior.
