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Which artistic direction is Jonathan Anderson planning for his brand?
A few months after a promising debut at Dior, unveiled during the Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Men’s Fashion Week, Jonathan Anderson seems to be taking a new creative turn for his label, JW Anderson. Here’s what you need to know about this new chapter, which has already taken the fashion world by storm.
par Nathan Merchadier.
Jonathan Anderson: a packed schedule for 2025
2025 has been quite eventful for the fashion industry to say the least. With designers’ departures and arrivals at major houses, including Demna at Gucci, Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, keeping up was a challenge. In the middle of this whirlwind, the path taken by one of today’s most talked-about designers stands out: Jonathan Anderson.
In February 2025, the Irish designer created the (very) erotic costumes for Luca Guadagnino’s film Queer. A few months later, the announcement of his departure from Loewe came out – one of the crown jewels of the LVMH group – where he had been overseeing all collections since 2013. A separation that leaves a considerable void, given how he revolutionized the Spanish house’s heritage. There, he crafted a universe where fashion, art, and pop culture intermingled without ever tipping into an overly conceptual approach.
A Dior debut between heritage and disruption
The next chapter unfolds in Paris. In April 2025, Dior officially appointed Jonathan Anderson to head both its men’s and women’s collections. His debut show was unveiled barely two months later. Staged behind the Jardin des Invalides, the collection surprised the audience. It offered a beautiful balance between respect for house codes and disruptive moves. The show, widely praised by critics, notably saw the return of the old Dior logo, abandoning the capital letters of the Kim Jones and Maria Grazia Chiuri eras to go back to the oblique ones.
The tireless Irishman is now expected to present his vision for Dior Women’s collections on October 1st. Rumours are already swirling about a first couture collection next January – Jonathan Anderson has already been teasing his inspirations on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival. This intense pace raises a burning question. How will this insatiable creator manage to reinvent his own design language at JW Anderson, while Dior, the historic giant, seems to demand all the spotlight?
What future for JW Anderson?
Alors même que Jonathan Anderson cumule la casquette de directeur artistique chez Dior et celle de fondateur de sa propre marque, une question se pose : quel avenir réserve-t-il à JW Anderson, dont le dernier défilé remonte à septembre dernier ? Pour l’heure, l’enfant prodige de la mode semble avoir choisi de délaisser momentanément les podiums afin d’investir sa créativité ailleurs : dans la révolution de la façade virtuelle de sa marque.
Ces derniers mois, la refonte du site internet a donné le ton. Loin d’un simple espace marchand, la plateforme s’apparente désormais à un cabinet de curiosités numérique. Chaque pièce s’y présente comme une pièce rare, détachée de la logique consumériste classique, presque comme une œuvre exposée. On y découvre ainsi des objets de design, des capsules visuelles évoquant les codes des réseaux sociaux, ou encore des vidéos où les “amis de la maison” (à l’image du réalisateur Luca Guadagnino) arborent les créations du label.
C’est d’ailleurs aujourd’hui la seule porte d’entrée vers l’univers JW Anderson, puisque la marque ne possède aucun point de vente physique dans le monde (même s’il se murmure qu’il pourrait rouvrir sa boutique londonienne en marge de la prochaine Fashion Week). Une posture radicale, qui fait du digital non pas un canal de vente secondaire, mais le théâtre exclusif de sa narration créative.
A new era without runway shows?
Cette orientation confirme que Jonathan Anderson préfère désormais inscrire JW Anderson dans un rythme plus expérimental, où le défilé n’est plus une norme mais un outil parmi d’autres. Une démarche qui fait écho au dernier show de la marque, en septembre 2024 à Londres, où le créateur avait volontairement réduit la collection à cinq matières, misant sur les coupes plutôt que sur la surenchère.
As he already said in a 2015 interview with Numéro: “The idea of codes is obsolete, because the public gets bored in 24 hours. Today, you need to entertain people, that’s the challenge every industry is facing.”
One question remains however… Will JW Anderson become a true laboratory of forms and ideas – as space where the designer can experiment what a house like Dior would never allow – or will his label be heading toward a more conceptual identity targeting insiders only? One thing is certain, Jonathan Anderson is charting a singular path for the future of his own brand by rethinking fashion as a narrative ecosystem.
