PARIS – After debuting with a menswear show last June and teasing his womenswear vision for Dior on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival, Jonathan Anderson properly kicked off a new chapter for the storied luxury French maison on Wednesday with his spring 2026 show.

The atmosphere inside the tent in the Tuileries gardens was electric: Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence, Jenna Ortega, Jisoo, Jimin, Greta Lee, Mikey Madison, Rosalia and Willow Smith were just some of the many celebrities in the room, in addition to France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron and Johnny Depp as well as many of Anderson’s designer peers, from Rick Owens and Alessandro Michele to Christian Louboutin and Kris van Assche.

Making a clean sweep of the past with a bold new look, Anderson drew a standing ovation.

WWD pooled the first reactions from fashion historians, retailers and professors. Here’s what they had to say. 

Benjamin Simmenauer, professor and director of research at the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris

As expected, Jonathan Anderson has brought more geometry and edgy sculptural volumes, as well as a play on proportions (mini Bar jackets the length of a crop top), to the Dior universe. It is less easy and brainier than his immediate predecessor. He seems to have tapped again into the 1948 collections: We see the same [references] of the Delft dress and the Caprice ensembles as in the menswear presented last June. And, like in June, a batch of commercial pieces also (notably in denim). For me, the most interesting are the newest components and especially this deconstructed Bar jacket and all these knots, which evoke couture…. There is a lot to see, which is not surprising: Anderson has to integrate many dimensions – the Dior heritage, his own legacy from Loewe, the British accent he puts on Dior, the men’s/women’s collections’ consistency and the promise of haute couture, which he never touched before.

Pamela Golbin, curator, author and fashion historian

Fashion is the gateway to culture. And no one knows that better than consummate storyteller Jonathan Anderson. For his debut collection at Dior, he transformed iconic silhouette designs into cultural objects of contemporary relevancy. To set the stage and open the show, the house’s almost 80-year history was projected into a four-minute film that referenced and paid tribute to the work of the seven previous designers, including the founder, Christian Dior. By doing so, it signaled Anderson’s larger narrative that brought him and his designs in alignment with the past and contextualized the clothes for today’s audiences. Masterful tailoring firmly anchored in the iconic vocabulary of the house resulted in surprising and unusual new silhouettes. As the first designer at Dior to lead both menswear and womenswear, Johnathan Anderson continued his vision for the house balancing formality with ease and tradition with modernity enlivened by his signature whimsical flourish.

Simon Longland, director of buying, fashion at Harrods

Jonathan Anderson’s debut at Dior marks a revolution rather than an evolution. The show was a collection of contrasts — couture against everyday ease, femininity with androgyny, covered versus sheer. Striking in its modernity, youthful energy and elegant ease, the collection reimagined Dior’s most iconic codes through Anderson’s singular lens. His update of the Bar jacket and skirt will undoubtedly be on countless wish lists, setting the tone for a bold new chapter at Dior.

Arthur Lemoine, chief executive officer of Galeries Lafayette

Jonathan Anderson today wrote a new chapter in the history of Dior with a lot of emotion and creativity. We found a certain idea of Dior’s femininity, through the cut, the jacket, the flowers. A femininity that is expressed in 2025 through a form of freedom and youth. While Dior offers for the first time a global creative vision, the universe is expressed with perfect coherence between the Dior men’s and women’s collections.

Alexandra Van Houtte, founder and CEO of Tagwalk

There were multiple different stories within Jonathan Anderson’s first womenswear collection at Dior, and I want to explore each direction of them. Bonus for the voluminous dresses and open backs, paired with bunny-ear heels, it felt elegant but also quirky cool. What the Tagwalk data says: grey accounts for 13 percent of the lineup, denim accounts for 21 percent. In terms of lengths, 46 percent of the looks are minis. For embellishments, 30 percent of the looks feature bows. The most-viewed looks with a two-hour timeframe were the poppy-hued pleated sleeveless top with the belted mid-calf white trousers, accessorized with a lilac tricorn hat, a black-lace trailing scarf across the lower face and pumps with a large gray rosette; a sleeved version of that same pleated top, this time in white, with the black version of the trousers and pumps with a lilac rosette; and the washed denim shirt with the khaki miniskirt featuring a large bow.

Christos Garkinos, CEO and founder of Covet by Christos

It felt as though everything had loosened at Jonathan Anderson’s first women’s collection for Dior — and in the best possible way. The iconic Dior Bar jacket took on a more voluminous silhouette, offering a fresh perspective on one of fashion’s most recognizable shapes. Then came the denim and accessories, injecting a sense of ease and wearability that softened Dior’s historically rigid runway codes.

Of course, as with Versace, there will be a Greek chorus questioning whether this went too far, whether it dilutes the brand, or what it means for Dior’s existing customer. But perhaps the wiser move is simply to let the story unfold.

What was clear, both here and at Versace, is a loosening of expectations — one that allows new creative leads like (Dario) Vitale and Anderson the space and grace to define their own point of view. So, loosen up.

(And those D-shaped loafers? Brilliant.)

Cameron Silver, founder of Decades Inc.

This was not a retro show, but Jonathan injected some iconic Dior-isms, such as his interpretation of the Bar jacket, presenting elements of the famous “Junon” dress as a modern short skirt, and using the iconic “cannage” quilting in shoulder bags that will certainly be desired.

Dior has a new look which is modern, architectural and young. It will be interesting to see the collection in stores and how buyers discern what to procure for their clients, since this was such a big departure for the house.  

This was a very strong debut that presented Dior in a very fresh way, and Jonathan’s point of view was very clear. I can’t wait to attend the January haute couture show!

Rickie De Sole, vice president, fashion director at Nordstrom

Jonathan Anderson’s debut at Dior was a perfect start — confident, modern and full of bold energy. The accessories are instantly desirable, and the way he balanced the house’s codes with a modern wardrobe felt both thoughtful and fresh. There was real anticipation around this show, and it absolutely delivered.