Heat, Fainting and Airy Romance: Jonathan Anderson’s New Dior Collection

The Dior show in Paris’s Tuileries Garden was once again overshadowed by unseasonably intense heat. Guests struggled to cope with the soaring temperatures as they waited for the show to begin. At least one attendee required medical attention, WWD reported.

The fact that the situation has now happened for the second time — guests faced a similar problem at the beginning of March — offers a stark illustration of the consequences of the climate crisis for the luxury industry and the wider world.

Still, Dior creative director Jonathan Anderson noticeably softened the aesthetic of his new women’s collection compared with his debut show a year ago. This time, the runway was free of the bulky skirts with structural frames and rigid silhouettes that defined his earlier work. In their place came weightless fabrics and airy shapes.

The show opened with a women’s version of a sheer jacket reminiscent of the piece Anderson used to open his men’s show in June. This time, the designer paired it with a tiny circular-cut skirt made from 10 layers of voluminous ivory chiffon.

“I like the idea that all of this, including the shoes, could fit into a shoebox,” the designer said during a preview of the collection.

Romantic motifs were unmistakable throughout Anderson’s latest work: flowing skirts resembling waterfalls and jackets assembled from hundreds of hand-dyed petals. The show unfolded against a backdrop of trees rising above a mist-shrouded pond.

“The trees, the water, the smoke — it all kind of merges together, like a Gerhard Richter painting,” the designer explained, describing the atmosphere of the show.

One of the collection’s key sources of inspiration was the concept of “ruined aristocracy,” expressed through shawl-collar jackets trimmed with shearling and paired with metallic python-effect trousers. The idea also echoed his men’s collection. Elsewhere, the designer introduced checked organza coats finished with delicate fringe.

One of the season’s defining silhouettes was an updated corolla skirt, pairing a more rigid pleated peplum or upper layer with lightweight, sheer fabric. Many of the looks were almost entirely free of rigid construction, with volume created through multiple folds that gathered into fullness below the knee or around the hips.

Some of Anderson’s design solutions still appear to be works in progress as he searches for their final form, but the designer is moving confidently in the direction he has chosen. As he has said, developing a personal style takes time, with new ideas gradually refined from one season to the next.