Boys. Dior Men Pre-Fall 2026

November 28, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Jonathan Anderson’s pre-fall 2026 collection for Dior Men reads as both a continuation and a clarification of his debut collection from the summer. And you know what? I like it. Anderson is betting big on a neo-preppy sensibility: oversized “Delft” cargo shorts, a frat-boy color palette, and a distinct Ralph-Lauren-ification of the Dior universe. What I loved most in this line-up is the way he transformed the “Bar” jacket – rendered here in Donegal wool – into a new menswear classic, something that can be effortlessly worn with faded jeans and a lived-in suede cross-body bag. Another look – a floral jacket layered over a blue striped shirt and paired with pink trousers – plays deliberately with the boundaries of good and bad taste in menswear. There’s an intriguing dialogue between high and low in Jonathan’s approach to Dior, and it makes the language he’s still in the process of defining sound increasingly compelling.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Challenging. Dior SS26

October 2, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Jonathan Anderson’s highly anticipated Dior womenswear debut has arrived, and it left me not just confused, but genuinely perplexed. It is, without doubt, a peculiar collection – one that will likely puzzle former Maria Grazia Chiuri clients. Anderson challenged the very perception of what Dior represents today, moving in multiple directions at once: blending the high (the brand’s couture savoir-faire) with the low (unexpected, intentionally blunt-looking flannels), while contextually engaging with Dior’s many past designers – yet keeping the approach far less conceptual than at Loewe. Backstage, he insisted this collection was simply about clothes.

The juxtapositions were striking: an origami-shaped hat, a pleated lace high-neck blouse (visually nodding to Yves Saint Laurent’s work for the maison), cargo-like balloon pants, and flower-shaped pumps – all colliding into an ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’ overdose. But that collision is precisely Anderson’s point: a shock factor that, in retrospect, often feels uncannily right.

The seemingly levitating gowns with inflated bows? Undeniably lovely, especially in motion. But a khaki denim shirt paired with a pastel pink mini skirt a moment later? Awkward, jarringly out of place. And yet, perhaps that very sense of ‘out-of-place-ness’ is Anderson’s true power at Dior.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Part Of Me. JW Anderson Resort 2026

August 1, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Come September, an utterly new iteration of JW Anderson will materialize. With a thoroughly-considered decision of stopping runway shows and fully rebrand brick-and-mortar shops (and open new ones across Milan, New York and London), Jonathan Anderson is about to revolutionize the way we think about fashion brands. “It’s going to be about: this is how I live. This is my world, what I collect, that’s part of me.” The designer – who’s now leading Dior – has created, as he likes to call it, a “blunt” environment where his own clothes – and others that are locally sourced – will sit alongside a plethora of things such as traditional Irish tea-towels, a Welsh blanket, hand-crafted stick chairs, a tiny still life by Gwen John, a set of restored vintage garden tools (instant must-have!), and even a selection of crotcheted, very British bird keyring charms. The stores will be restocked according to demand, and will of course offer all-time JW Anderson classics: argyle knits, cargo pants, witty denim, cheeky accessories. They are modeled in the latest lookbook by creatives the designer collaborates with and admires a lot: Luca Guadagnino, Bella Freud, Anthea Hamilton, Ben Wishaw and Pol Anglada, to name just a few. Anderson’s brave, bold, new IRL shop strategy will hopefully start a new wave of love and appreciation of brick-and-mortar experiences. Remember concept stores? They might be back very soon.

ED’s SELECTION:

JW Anderson Embellished Suede Loafers

JW Anderson Teacup Leather-trimmed Crocheted Bag Charm

JW Anderson Rugby Cotton-jersey Polo Shirt

JW Anderson Cotton-canvas Jacket

JW Anderson Pleated Printed Twill Mini Skirt

JW Anderson Victoria Sponge Resin Clutch

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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The Debut. Dior Men SS26

June 28, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

For some reason, you always expect a seismic shift from a debut as big as Jonathan Anderson’s first collection for Dior. Interestingly, his first line-up for Loewe – over a decade ago – was menswear too, and many people were puzzled, just like now with his take on Dior. And that’s ok.

Rewriting Dior isn’t something you can pack effortlessly into one collection. Anderson has a vision for the brand for the upcoming few seasons, and probably only when we see more of it, his debut will make more sense – when a bigger picture will take shape.

At the moment, all I see is a continuation of a Dior Men narrative that was planted by Kim Jones: British flamboyance, twisted with codes coming from Jonathan’s namesake label, JW Anderson (like those oversized, millefeuille chino shorts). There were witty references to the maison’s heritage, revived through a new lens: the “Bar” jacket was made from an Irish Donegal tweed – a matter of national pride for Anderson – which featured here and there throughout the collection. There was also an intriguing play with fashion historicism, like Louis 16th frock coat worn with ordinary cotton trousers. I will note that such brands as Marcus Allen’s The Society Archive or ERL experiment with similar vintage-vintage notions for a while now. Interestingly, the collection’s affection for flaneurism had echoes of Rei Kawakubo’s Comme Des Garçons.

I might still not understand the show’s connection with Andy Warhol (the brand released polaroids depicting his famous friends as the collection’s teaser), but I see a dialogue between two fictional man: Louis de Pointe du Lac, played by Brad Pitt in “Interview With The Vampire”, and Ennis, embodied by Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain”. Dramatic, knitted capes (and of course the “Dracula” tote) and slim, brocade waistcoats created an intriguing friction with raw flannel shirts and faded denim.

Designers entering a new brand have more questions than answers – just like the spectators of their debuts. I’m not fully buying new Dior yet, but I look forward to the next pieces of the Anderson puzzle.

ED’s SELECTION:

JW Anderson Oversized Shell Bomber Jacket

JW Anderson Men’s Straight-Leg Jeans

Christian Dior Vintage Gold-plated Bracelet

Loewe Cotton Corduroy-trimmed Checked Wool-blend Padded Jacket

Loewe Men’s High-Rise Cargo Shorts

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Contemporary. Loewe SS25

October 4, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

In his 10th anniversary show for Loewe, Jonathan Anderson wasn’t looking back at his all-time hits. It’s Jonathan: he’s a designer that is always looking forward. The delightfully surreal, but not overly on-the-nose collection began with a bouncingly light, flowered, off-the-shoulder crinoline dress. Corseting-free and hands in pockets, the look – which reappearead a couple of times in the show – felt absolutely contemporary and cool (unlike the stuffy prettiness at Alessandro Michele’s Valentino debut). Anderson finds sheer pleasure in messing with classicism. References to classical composers and painters on T-shirts – made in feathers – pictured Mozart, Chopin, Bach, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and a Manet soldier boy. “I like this idea that they’re kind of like pinup rock stars,” Anderson said. “Like when you go to a museum or you go to a concert: experiential things that you want to take a memento of with you. The idea that music reminds us of moments in our lives.” Then there were his multiple reimagined French golden age couture dresses, all hoops and semisheer flower prints and trapeze-line silhouettes abbreviated to very short minis. Worn with sneakers, there was nothing fussy about his take on eveningwear. Again, a contemporary feel that many, many designers had a hard time grasping this season.