In a widely expected appointment at one of France’s biggest and most storied fashion houses, Jonathan Anderson has been named Dior’s creative director of women’s, men’s and haute couture collections.

The Northern Irish designer, 40, becomes Dior’s eighth couturier, and is to show his first women’s ready-to-wear collection during Paris Fashion Week in October, following his June 27 debut with Dior menswear.

He succeeds Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, who joined as Dior’s artistic director of women’s haute couture, rtw and accessory collections in 2016, making feminism and female creativity a prominent narrative during her tenure. Her cruise 2026 show in Rome, which blended rtw and haute couture looks, was her swan song, and her departure was confirmed last Thursday.

“It’s the role of the CEO to know when to make a creative change, and we thought that this was the right moment,” Delphine Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture, said in an interview at her Paris office.

“My father was also very involved in the decision, of course, and we think he’s the most talented designer of his generation,” she said, flashing a big smile.

In a statement, Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Dior’s parent, concurred: “Jonathan Anderson is one of the greatest creative talents of his generation. His incomparable artistic signature will be a crucial asset in writing the next chapter of the history of the house of Dior.”

For his part, Anderson said, “I am incredibly honored to be given the opportunity to unite Dior’s women’s, men’s and couture collections under a single, cohesive vision. My instinct is to be led by the house’s empathetic spirit, established by Dior himself.

“I look forward to working alongside its legendary ateliers to craft the next chapter of this incredible story. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Bernard Arnault and Delphine Arnault for their trust and loyalty over the years,” he added.

Anderson has been widely seen as the heir apparent at Dior for months, with a slow-drip news flow about his exit from Loewe after an acclaimed 11-year tenure, the appointment of Proenza Schouler founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez as his successors — and the surprise announcement in April by Bernard Arnault at LVMH’s shareholders’ meeting that Anderson had succeeded Kim Jones in Dior’s men’s department.

In the interview, Delphine Arnault acknowledged that putting Anderson at the helm of the women’s and men’s universes — with the exception of fine jewelry, helmed by Victoire de Castellane since 1998 — is unprecedented.

“What’s particularly interesting with Jonathan is that he’s going to do men and women, so it’s going to bring a lot of coherence and consistency in the products, the communication and the windows,” she said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what dialogue there is between men and women.”

Christian Dior Monsieur was introduced in 1970, and dedicated designers for that department have included Dominique Morlotti in the ’80s, Patrick Lavoix in the ’90s, and since 2000, Hedi Slimane, Kris Van Assche and Jones.

Arnault acknowledged the workload at Dior today is enormous, with men’s and women’s rtw shows, pre-collections, an annual destination cruise show, and haute couture displays in January and July. (She confirmed Dior would sit out haute couture week in July, since Chiuri included high-fashion looks in the cruise collection.)

Arnault pointed out that Anderson long straddled men’s and women’s at Loewe and his signature brand, gaining experience working across both categories and ultimately orchestrating sizable teams.

“He’s also going to have an amazing team at Dior. We have amazing ateliers for haute couture, for ready-to-wear, for menswear, too,” she said. “We also have great studios with teams that are really, really strong.”

That said, “he’s coming to Dior with some key people, key talents that he worked with in the past, that he trusts a lot and that are going to help him in this journey. I’m excited to see his vision.”

While Arnault didn’t mention any names, among those Anderson brought to Dior is Pol Anglada, who lists himself on LinkedIn as a senior designer at Dior since February. He was previously head designer of women’s rtw at Loewe.

Sounding relaxed and confident, Arnault kicked off a 30-minute conversation with high praise for Chiuri, whose engaging narratives, graceful designs and merchandising prowess quadrupled the size of Dior, according to HSBC estimates.

“I have only admiration and respect, for she’s done amazing things for our brand. She stayed nine years, and the growth of the company has been very important under her creative direction,” said Arnault, who was dressed in the dark tailoring favored by Chiuri. “She’s an extraordinary designer. She’s very close to her teams, and manages them super well. I really thank her for everything that she’s done.”

Meanwhile, Anderson’s star has been steadily rising at LVMH with his innovative and sure-handed rejuvenation of Loewe, which was founded in 1846.

His daring designs — and intense focus on craftsmanship — helped catapult the scale of the Loewe business, with revenues multiplying by more than seven times over his tenure to approach 2 billion euros, market sources estimate.

Arnault vividly recalled her first encounter with Anderson, then in his mid-20s. She climbed four flights of stairs to visit the apartment near Gare du Nord that he had rented to display his signature JW Anderson collection. The brand was attracting attention with provocative and androgynous designs, such as frilly Bermuda shorts and bandeau tops for men.

“It was a long time ago, yet he had the same personality as today, and a very clear vision. He was very articulate, and really impressive for his young age,” she marveled.

LVMH acted swiftly and in 2013 acquired a 46 percent stake in London-based JW Anderson, also appointing the designer as the new creative director of Loewe, one among a vast stable of fashion and leather goods brands.

“It always takes a little bit of time when you have a new designer to understand what his vision is, and to see what they’re going to do with the brand,” she commented.

Slowly but surely, Anderson transformed Loewe from a small, reputable Spanish leather house into a vibrant global luxury brand steeped in contemporary culture.

Arnault said Anderson made Loewe more relevant, urgent and modern, turning out signature leather goods like the Flamenco and the Puzzle bags. Puzzle is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month with a host of reeditions. He also made the brand synonymous with savoir-faire with the establishment of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, which crowned Kunimasa Aoki as its 10th winner last week.

Arnault confessed to intense curiosity about how Anderson will interpret the legacy of Dior, whose founder ignited postwar Paris with his extravagant, full-skirted New Look and whose brief career ended with his death in 1957.

Asked if an aesthetic disruption looms, given Anderson’s penchant for experimental, conceptual and surrealist-tinged designs at his own brand and at Loewe, Arnault said, “it’s going to be an evolution.”

“He’s at Dior, and Dior has a lot of codes and history that he should work with. He’s spent a lot of time in the archives and I’m excited to see what particular moments of the long history of Dior he’s most passionate about,” she said. “It’s going to be a surprise for you, for me, for all of us!

“He’s going to chart his own path, of course, with his sensibilities, emotions and his creativity.”

Anderson’s women’s show at Dior also will come amid an unprecedented number of designer debuts for spring 2026 with Chanel, Gucci, Balenciaga, Loewe, Jil Sander, Bottega Veneta, Versace, Bally, Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier all under new creative leadership.

Asked if she had any theories about the unprecedented number of designer changes, Arnault offered: “Fashion is about evolution and cycles.”

Past successors to founder Christian Dior include Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and Chiuri.

Saint Laurent logged the shortest tenure, only two years, and Bohan the longest, spanning three decades. Ferré helmed the house for seven years, Galliano 15 years, Simons three-and-a-half years and Chiuri nine years.

Incidentally, Ferré, Galliano and Simons all had signature fashion houses, which they juggled with their Dior responsibilities during their tenures.

JW Anderson is expected to pivot from a four-times-a-year runway player into a more curated, lifestyle-focused retail proposition. The designer has been putting teasers on his personal Instagram account, with “local craft” a key tag line.

That Dior signed on Anderson suggests the house is ready for another shift in fashion direction, given his predilection for often blunt, art-influenced designs and intensive craft.

The French house has had dalliances with architectural grandeur by Ferré, retro-tinged glamor under Galliano, minimalism under Simons, and customer-friendly classicism with Chiuri.

Anderson created fashion fireworks via emphatic, sharply executed design ideas, both for Loewe and his JW Anderson brand, which has a slightly younger, more irreverent spirit.

Simmering under the surface of both brands were references to art and surrealism, plus sly commentary about the perils of technology, social media and our estrangement from nature.

Born in Northern Ireland in 1984, Anderson studied menswear at the London College of Fashion, graduating in 2005 and going on to work in visual merchandising at Prada under Manuela Pavesi. He consulted for several brands before launching JW Anderson in 2008.

His designs earned him a heap of industry awards, including the 2022 WWD Honor for Womenswear Designer of the Year, International Designer of the Year Award at the 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards, the Neiman Marcus Award for Creative Impact in the Field of Fashion in 2023 and Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2023 and 2024.

Arnault said she’s “very optimistic” about the future with Anderson fully on board.

“Dior is a brand that has a huge potential. There is much more that can be done, and I’m very optimistic with Jonathan and with his vision to develop Dior and to make it even more desirable,” she said.

The executive highlighted some parallels between Anderson and founder Christian Dior.

“Mr. Dior loved art, and had his own gallery before he created the fashion house. And Jonathan loves art and is very passionate about art and young artists,” she said. “He also loves gardens. As you know, Mr. Dior was also so passionate about flowers, about gardens.”

Indeed, artworks often figure as integral elements of Anderson’s runway sets at Loewe, whether a tiny bird on the top of a pole, the centerpiece of his spring 2025 women’s show, or crumbling cubes of confetti for fall 2023.

Floral prints figured in gossamer dresses at that spring 2025 show, and a flower shop was among unexpected features of Loewe’s Madrid flagship when it opened in 2016.

Arnault revealed another common trait between Christian Dior and Anderson: “They’re both very superstitious,” she said with a laugh.

She also marveled at Anderson’s unique point of view on fashion, lauding his interest in young talents. He eagerly accepted her invitation to become a jury member for the LVMH Prize for Young Designers when he was still a similar age of the contenders.

“His perspective on fashion and what’s happening at the moment is always very interesting,” Arnault said. “He questions everything. And he really thinks out of the box on many subjects. It’s always interesting to ask him his opinion about what’s happening in fashion, because he has a way of thinking that is always inspiring. He always comes up with new ideas.”

Anderson arrives at Dior at a challenging time for luxury brands, but at a fashion house that has been fortifying management ranks as it grows in scale and complexity.

Earlier this year Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou was appointed deputy CEO of Christian Dior Couture. He was briefly CEO of Fendi in Rome and managing director of LVMH Fashion Group after logging several years as executive vice president in charge of the men’s division and women’s accessories at Vuitton, where he worked alongside Arnault, who moved to the helm of Dior in 2023.

In the interview, Arnault also highlighted key appointments late last year to further reinforce Dior’s quality standards, craftsmanship and exceptional savoir-faire.

Giorgio Striano joined the brand as chief industrial officer in January after a long career at Italian eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica (previously Luxottica), while Nicolas Carré moved over from Vuitton to become Dior’s industrial director for leather goods, shoes and fashion jewelry.

Meanwhile, she described the mood in the house as ebullient.

After months of speculation that he was headed to the house, Anderson started working on menswear at Dior in February, and it was widely anticipated both inside and outside the company that he might take on a bigger role.

“Internally, yes, people are super excited. It brought a lot of energy,” she said. “His way of working is very inclusive.…He explains his vision, and it’s not like he’s speaking only to two people. He’s speaking to the whole team. I think that’s a very modern way of working, and that motivates the teams.”

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