Jonathan Anderson dresses down formal for his Dior debut

Think of Paris and figures like Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Antoniette and King Louis XV spring to mind. It makes sense, then, that Jonathan Anderson’s inaugural menswear collection for the house for Paris Fashion Week Men’s at the historic Hôtel National des Invalides centred around history and affluence. It wasn’t a tone-deaf ode to luxury, though — the Northern Irish designer and founder of JW Anderson presented his SS26 collection as both homage and revolution to a front row spanning Robert Pattinson to Sabrina Carpenter.

Dubbed by the designer as “reconstructed formality”, Anderson was inspired by the collision of both high and low culture, drawing from Andy Warhol’s never-before-seen photographs to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Lee Radziwill. His influences also reached over into the literary world, spanning Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Dangerous Liaisons. The result was a collection balancing gothic romanticism and contemporary casual. 

When it came to realising that concept, the SS26 collection included standouts like the regency-style blazers that opened the show, and audacious moves such as pairing Dior’s iconic Bar jacket with a pair of cargo shorts. That was a recurring theme, though — the mood was shaped by Anderson’s belief that “empathy should redefine elegance”. Full-blown capes with slouchy denim. Régence-style ties with sneakers. Our takeaway? Anderson has made the Eton uniform cool, but in an equally chic and self-aware way.