For the first time since Christian Dior, the brand will have only one main designer. It becomes Jonathan Anderson.
The largest world group focused on top fashion and other luxury goods and services LVMH has attracted a current icon of the fashion industry - designer Jonathan Anderson. Moreover, it will be the first time since the founder himself was active in Dior, for only one creative person to solely contribute to women's, men's and haute couture collections.
Anderson's arrival could cause a course change at one of the most famous fashion icons, whose value is now estimated at 9 billion dollars. The public will be able to convince themselves of this for the first time at the end of this month. He will present his first Dior Men Summer 2026 collection in Paris on 27th June. The first women's fashion show from the new collection is reportedly due in October.
"I am convinced he will bring a creative and modern vision to our house, inspired by the wonderful story of Mr. Dior and the collections he created. He will be supported by our teams and our incredible studios, which will bring his creativity to life,"
Delphine Arnault, the general director of Christian Dior Couture, said this to CNN.
Turbulence in the fashion market
Since 2001, when Dior became a direct part of the LVMH group, it has been the case that no designer has had full competence over both its men's and women's collections. Anderson's arrival at Dior therefore signifies not only a personnel revival, but also a risk whether he can handle such a difficult task. All this comes at a time when the fashion industry is facing declining sales due to global political and economic changes.
Anderson belongs to a new generation of designers, taking responsibility for the direction this field will take in the coming years. Others are also agreeing that it's time for a change. Already in May, the French group Kering appointed former Valentino designer Pierpaolo Piccioli as creative director of Balenciaga. Staff earthquakes also took place a while ago at brands such as Gucci, Chanel, Versace, Bottega Veneta, and Celine.
Anderson stands behind a number of brands
The Northern Irish designer, who became the new face of Dior, started his career at Prada. He then owned the JW Anderson brand and created his first own collection for the London Fashion Week show.
Twelve years ago, he switched to the Loewe brand. Here he became well-known due to his playful and original ideas. Among Anderson's hits are the Puzzle handbag and surreal designs, including shoes, where the heel was replaced by nail polish bottles.
He also gained recognition, for example, with the Versus collection, which was directly encouraged by Donatella Versace, or with a red outfit for singer Rihanna. He is also known for fashion designs for actors Daniel Craig and Dame Maggie Smith and the movie Queer. He worked with its director Lucy Guadagnin already three years ago on the production of the film Rivals. Both films were also screened in our cinemas.
Efforts to revive interest in Dior
The significance of Anderson's arrival is also evidenced by the fact that LVMH's annual revenue is around 23 billion dollars, which is roughly 500 billion crowns in conversion. And it is Dior wants to continue to be one of its flagships. The group owns a total of 75 brands - from hotel chains to fashion and cosmetics.
“A change in creative leadership brings a new opportunity to revive the brand,”
The fashion expert and analyst Luca Solca wrote in The New York Times. Whether Anderson will be able to put Dior back on its feet remains to be seen. However, he definitely has results to show for himself:
during his 11 years at Loewe, he transformed this brand from a little known name into one of the hottest fashion brands of today with annual revenues estimated at 2 billion dollars.
Sources: author's article, CNN, The New York Times, Wikipedia
