Dior Men appoints Jonathan Anderson as creative director

The eagerly awaited announcement has finally been made. Jonathan Anderson is joining Dior, where he will take charge of the menswear collections. The leading label of luxury group LVMH has confirmed to FashionNetwork.com that Anderson has been named “creative director of the men’s collections,” adding that the Northern Irish designer will stage his first Dior Men show at 2:30 pm CET on June 27 in Paris. The announcement was anticipated by LVMH boss Bernard Arnault himself, at the general meeting of the group’s shareholders.

Anderson, 40, is renowned for his great creativity. On March 17 he left Loewe, the LVMH-owned Spanish leather goods label, where he has been replaced as creative director by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, designers of Proenza Schouler. 

Under Anderson’s aegis, Loewe, a second-tier label in LVMH’s brand galaxy, has literally exploded in the last 10 years. According to Bernstein analyst Luca Solca, “in just over 10 years, Loewe has more than quadrupled its revenue which, according to our estimates, topped the €1.5 billion mark last year.”

When Anderson left Loewe, having captivated the public with his quirky, unique creations, the label said that “Loewe has experienced exceptional growth and established itself as a pioneer by offering a modern vision of luxury and culture, while staying true to its long-standing commitment to artisanal craftsmanship.”

Among Anderson’s notable hits, the best-selling Puzzle messenger bag, priced at approximately €3,000. Anderson’s pixelated looks, his anthurium dresses, a version of which was worn at a red-carpet event by Zendaya, and the pumps with rose and egg-shaped heels caught the eye of industry insiders and aficionados alike. He has also collaborated with the film industry in a number of movies, and outfitted James Bond actor Daniel Craig in a memorable Loewe campaign.

“Besides shaping [Loewe’s] creative and cultural direction and having a significant impact on the fashion industry, Jonathan Anderson has overseen the launch of the Craft Prize through the Loewe Foundation: an initiative dedicated to preserving and highlighting the instances of artisanal expertise that are being lost around the world,” said Loewe.

At a time when ancestral techniques and handcrafting expertise, as guarantors of a brand’s authenticity, have become core values for luxury houses, this kind of know-how and Anderson’s passion for artisanal craftsmanship, associated with his ability to reinvent and breathe new life into products, will be an undeniable asset for Dior.

Storytelling ability

Anderson was born in Northern Ireland in 1984, and studied at the London College of Fashion. After graduating in 2005, he worked in visual merchandising at Prada and as a consultant for several brands, before launching his own label JW Anderson in 2008, first with a menswear line, and later adding women’s ready-to-wear. He soon made a name for himself with his bold, inventive creations, and was especially successful with his directional, highly attractive fashion accessories.

Anderson, who loves literature and is a hard-working perfectionist, is distinctive for the way he conceives his collections as narratives. His signature touch very quickly became recognisable through his often genderless silhouettes, characterised by skilful work on textures and volumes.

Anderson has won many prizes, and was named British designer of the year in 2023 and 2024 for his work at Loewe and his own label. He has built a loyal fan base, attracting an eclectic mix of international artists to Loewe’s annual Craft Prize.

His appointment at Dior, announced on the sidelines of the LVMH shareholders’ meeting, came as something of a surprise, virtually coinciding with LVMH being overtaken by Hermès in terms of market capitalisation, and posting a revenue downturn in Q1 2025. Is it a way of diverting attention during this complex phase for LVMH?

Anderson’s appointment is also surprising as he was expected to take charge of Dior’s womenswear collections too. The fact that he has currently been put in charge of design at Dior Men only, where he is succeeding Kim Jones, who left at the end of January, will surely fuel further speculation within a frenetic luxury market, in the wake of the recent appointments of Demna (full name Demna Gvasalia) as creative director of Gucci, and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel.