Inside the Musée Rodin yesterday, January 26, the fashion world witnessed a Creative Reset that felt less like a runway show and more like a laboratory experiment. For his first-ever foray into the world of Haute Couture, Jonathan Anderson traded mid-century romance for a daring, clinical, and architectural future.
For our community, this marks the end of the “nostalgia” era. Dior has officially entered a period of high-concept collision.
Kinetic Curves: The New Shape of Couture
Anderson’s vision was unmoored from the traditional corset. Instead, he looked to the “kinetic energy” of ceramics, specifically the vessels of artist Dame Magdalene Odundo. The opening trio of balloon-shaped gowns weren’t just dresses; they were architectural propositions crafted from featherweight silk tulle and hidden wire.
They didn’t hug the body in a traditional sense; they claimed space around it. This is Clinical Elegance at its finest—precise, intentional, and slightly off-kilter.
A Wunderkammer of Fragile Strength
The show, conceived as a Wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities), was a masterclass in tension between the “fake and the real.”
• Fragmentation: Anderson “boxed and unboxed” the Dior archives, slicing the iconic Bar Jacket into shrunken, hip-grazing versions that felt like “armour” for the modern woman.
• The “Galliano” Bias: A nod to the 90s emerged through sinuous, unlined gowns that moved like liquid—proving that even without a corset, the silhouette can be undeniably powerful.
• Botanical Distortion: Instead of pretty floral prints, we saw cyclamen earmuffs and hyper-real silk flowers clipped to ears, inspired by a bouquet gifted to Anderson by John Galliano.
The Vision: Art First, Always
Why does this matter to the modern collection? Because Anderson is treating Dior as a living ecosystem rather than a museum. By stripping away the “straightforward prettiness” of the past, he has found a “Right Shoe” for the future—one that is risky, divisive, and grounded in substance.
For the “every woman” who views her wardrobe as a curated gallery, this collection is a blessing. It asks for determination, not just admiration.
COUTURE TROOPERS MAGAZINE 