Dior | Design iconography reimagined for the now

One of my passions is to see a designer’s vision expressed through the fashion lens, and I’ve written about my eye on this aspect of design in the compendium, when a particular design collection strikes me for its clarity, palette and inspiration. For me this is less about clothing and more about a cohesion of ideas, expressed in a tactile and immediate form.

Jonathan Anderson’s first haute couture show for Dior struck exactly that kind of chord. From the elegant and iconic sketches, a stylistic nod to Dior’s own drawings of the 1950s, to the quiet adherence to the house’s classic silhouette, the collection felt both sensitive and radically inventive. Unmistakably modern.

(All photos from the Dior website.)

The pieces were at times rigid, at times rippling with feathers, ruffles of hand-cut shapes, long bright tails. Skirts appeared like orbs, some veiled with the lightest netting. The handiwork was palpable in appliquéd flowers, gems and unusual textures.

The effect is at once fresh and totally innovative, and yet within the elegant structure of the fashion house’s iconography. A collection that understands its lineage while moving the language forward.

Bravo Jonathan Anderson!