SS26 Ready-To-Wear Dior by Jonathan Anderson: Dresses, Drama, and the Death of Revival
- Yukthamugi
- Oct 10
- 4 min read
Jonathan Anderson's new collection. Is it a Yay or a Nay? Our Beauty and Style writer, Yuktha gives her take.
Creative directors in the fashion industry are once again playing musical chairs, and to be honest, it's the drama we didn't know we needed.
Designers are moving about like couture nomads in a time when the high fashion industry is in dire need of a creative reset. Living in a recession where price hikes are no longer sustainable, couture houses are strategically resetting their brands to add technical craftsmanship and showcase a new wave of creative leadership. From Demna moving from Balenciaga to Gucci, to the most-talked-about hire of the season, Matthieu Blazy leaving Bottega Veneta for Chanel. But Chanel wasn't the only person in the world's sights. Everyone was anticipating Anderson's Dior, wondering if he would work the same magic that, during his 11-year term, turned Loewe from a leather-focused brand into a kaleidoscope of art, texture, and wit.
With enormous anticipation, Jonathan Anderson entered this collection as Dior's first creative director to handle both menswear and womenswear since Monsieur Dior himself. Anya Taylor-Joy, the Dior ambassador and movie diva, started the teasing early in September when she walked the red carpet wearing a custom icy-blue gown. The gown featured a high-necked bodice with no sleeves that flared into a woven basket-like skirt.
The Northern Irish designer's admirers are aware that he is a poetic perfectionist who is fixated on details, silhouettes, and narrative. With a film directed by Adam Curtis, his vision for Dior was hinted at from the very beginning of the SS26 show. Archival footage of former creative directors, including but not limited to Gianfranco Ferrè, John Galliano, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and Monsieur Dior himself, was "sucked" into a Dior shoebox after flickering and distorting. According to Anderson's later explanation, this represented the past being stored like memories, a kind of neatly packed-away implosion of nostalgia. Gorgeous, intimidating. Perfectly Anderson.
The film lasted nearly five minutes, where it formed a sense of anticipation, cascading into the first look. The model stepped out in a crisp white dress topped with bows, a modernist spin on Dior’s iconic New Look silhouette. It felt like a dialogue between eras: post-war femininity meeting 2020s edginess.
Look 1:
The show continued its flirty conversation with history. A grey Bar jacket speckled with white shimmered under the lights. Its micro-mini hemline is playing dangerously with the concept of “skirt”. The silver rose heels complete the look. It was cheeky, camp, and unapologetically fun.
Look 42:
Corsetry, a hallmark of the house, was reimagined with grace. A sheer fabric draped over the model’s body, complete with a nude panel and matching boy shorts underneath. A bo(w)dacious lace bow, yes, bo(w)dacious, tied at the back and bounced with each step, playful yet impossibly elegant.
Look 6:
The model also donned a pair of open-toe black heels with a D-shaped front decorated with a small bow stamped with ‘Dior’ in gold lettering. This is an exciting departure from the previous Dior shoe styles, as they came in loud branding and only in muted tones. Anderson has decided to pay homage to Roger Vivier, arguably one of the geniuses in the shoe business and a creative director of Dior in the past, by going back to quieter branding and a more interesting colourway.
Look 48:
This next dress felt like a nod to Vivienne Westwood, as it was reminiscent of the rebellious corsetry and boning of their cotton dress in black. Anderson's dress had a sense of style that subdued it. Dior was whispered nicely, but it wasn't shouted.
Look 49:
Then came the pieces for Dior’s everyday woman, if “everyday” means chic and dangerously put-together. A mint-green polo styled with butter-yellow trousers, worn with green shoes and an envelope-like reddish-brown bag, known as the Cigale bag, proved Anderson’s mastery of colour. It felt refreshing, especially now that the Dior Book Tote has officially entered its “over it” era. Let’s be real – that’s nothing groundbreaking for spring.
Look 30:
One all-white ensemble crackled with allure and presence: a flowing cape trailing behind like summer bedsheets caught in a breeze, paired with snow-white low-rise trousers. A burgundy Cigale bag punctuated the look with just the right amount of drama. This was for the classic Dior woman, the one who commands silence when she walks into the room.
When the final look exited and the lights dimmed, critics were quick to praise Anderson’s reinterpretation of vintage silhouettes and his ability to balance commercial viability with couture artistry. But some noted that a full “New Look” revival wasn’t attempted. And to that, I ask: aren’t we tired of it? After endless resurrections of archival looks and red-carpet reruns, when does fashion start dreaming again? It’s about time designers stop digging up the past and start building from it. Additionally, some mentioned that they found the womenswear collection boring, as the silhouettes, fabrics and colour scheme were similar to his menswear debut collection. As the creative director for both the menswear and womenswear departments, it feels essential that each collection stands strong on its own. Yet together, they both tell a cohesive storyline that has a natural flow; it gives visual context and informs people (even the ones who aren’t so familiar with high fashion) that they belong to the same season.
Anderson seems to understand that instinctively. He knows that the ‘D’ in Dior stands for drama – the kind that’s quiet, deliberate, and breathtaking. He designs for women who are bold and soft, fierce and calm, classic and new. With SS26, he doesn’t just revisit the archives. Instead, he reclaims them.
If Dior is about dreaming, then Anderson’s version is the kind where you wake up and live it.
To watch the SS26 Dior Ready-To-Wear by Jonathan Anderson, watch it here on YouTube:
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