Shrunken Bar Jackets, Sculptural Hats, and a Grand Fantasyscape: Jonathan Anderson Starts a New Chapter at Dior

The sheer number of designer debuts at fashion month this season is unprecedented with more than 15 new creative directors stepping into roles at some of the biggest maisons. One of the most anticipated takeovers of the season arrived today at Paris Fashion Week with Jonathan Anderson’s first womenswear collection at Christian Dior. Back in the summer, the Loewe alum showed an initial look at his vision for Dior for the spring 2026 menswear collection, which was met with acclaim with its reworked Bar jackets, conceptual chino short silhouettes, elaborate Louis XVI coats, and preppy knits.

Today, we saw more from the new chapter at Dior with his spring 2026 womenswear collection. In both his menswear and womenswear debuts, Anderson took on the historic house codes through his lens—going back to the first collection in 1947, when Christian Dior introduced the groundbreaking New Look. On the runway, Bar jackets were reworked and more house codes reimagined. Anderson also paid homage to his Dior predecessors—both in a film that played before the show and in the runway looks themselves, including a reimagined version of John Galliano’s signature buccaneer hats. Ahead, more on Anderson’s spring 2026 collection for Dior.

Jonathan Anderson Makes His Womenswear Debut

All eyes were on the Dior show for Jonathan Anderson's womenswear debut. The excitement he's bringing to the brand is palpable. It’s clear we’re entering a new era of fashion, and Anderson is leading that change at Dior but just getting started.

The New New Look

Featuring a cinched waist, a very full skirt, and rounded shoulders, the New Look introduced by Christian Dior in 1947 was radical and groundbreaking when it first debuted and changed the way women dressed in the following decades. In his womenswear debut, Anderson showcased his take with the new New Look, including dresses that were executed in lampshade silhouettes with draping, oversize bow details, and woven fabric.

The Reimagined Bar Jacket

One of the most iconic silhouettes from Dior is its Bar jacket, finished with a signature nipped-in waist—an emblematic style from the New Look collection. Anderson paid homage to the original while reworking it through his point of view. Styles were shrunken and cropped, executed in cutout versions as well as reimagined in looping, twisted shapes with ribbon ties.

Fantasy and Imagination

The strongest collections this season have been wildly imaginative. The runways have felt cinematic, color is back, and new ideas are taking shape in ways that feel like they're ushering in a moment of change in the fashion world—something Anderson achieved on the runway at Dior. "The Dior language is at once familiar and surprising," Anderson explained in the show notes. "It is an invitation to dream big—accepting the theater of life, enjoying the power of fashion to rewire the everyday into a grand fantasyscape."

The Accessories

Of the many covetable pieces on the runway, the accessories were particularly noteworthy. New designs such as the suede Lady Dior bag and bow-embellished slingback heels are set to be best sellers when they are released for spring 2026.