PARIS – Bernard Arnault surprised the world of fashion – and apparently everyone at LVMH – announcing to the shareholders on Thursday that the star creator Jonathan Anderson succeeded Kim Jones as a creator of men’s clothing for Dior and will present her first collection for the French house in June.
He caused an excitement shock to the annual general meeting of the French group, where the company Titan also exerted pressure on Brussels to negotiate a solution to increasing trade tensions between Europe and the United States stretched by the Trump administration’s tariff policy.
Arnault, president and chief executive officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, abandoned the Dior bomb in response to a question of a shareholder on the succession plan after the resignation last January of Jones, the British designer who recorded a ten -year -old mandate at the French house.
He marked the first time that LVMH made an official that Anderson played a new role in the group since the North Irish designer resigned from Loewe last month after an 11 years.
Dior has been in a hurry a press release from a line indicating that Anderson worked on his male collection of spring 2026, which would be presented on June 27 at 2:30 p.m. during the Paris Fashion Week. He also distributed a new official portrait of Anderson by photographer David Sims.
During the meeting, Arnault did not develop, despite the general speculation, Anderson is also about to take over the Dior women’s women, currently led by Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri.
During the meeting, which dropped during a deadly week for LVMH after a 2% drop in income from the first quarter sent its shares in a Tailspin, Arnault also criticized the group’s new recruits in 2024: Sarah Burton in Givenchy, Michael Rider in Celine and Proenza Schouler Founders Lazaro Hernandez and Jack Mcullough.
Bernard Arnault
With the kind permission of LVMH
He also mentioned Chiuri and the pre-self-self-2025 collection, which she just paraded in Kyoto, as well as Nicolas Ghesquière and Pharrell Williams, artistic director of the female and men collections to Louis Vuitton respectively, as well as Castellane’s victory, the most recent Dior jewelry designer shown in the jewelry flower, the “sensational” of Florence.
Luxury groups in Europe were under pressure from investors and stock analysts to start business with new creativity while business boom in the post-comfortable period collapsed.
Chanel, Gucci, Maison Margiela, Lanvin, Bottega Veneta, Versace, Tom Ford, Dries Van Notten, Mugler, Bally, Jil Sander and Jean Paul Gaultier are among the houses that have appointed new creative directors in the past year.
Anderson has transformed Loewe from a small house into Spanish leather renowned into a dynamic world luxury brand steeped in contemporary culture.
His daring creations and his intense accent on crafts have helped to catapult the magnitude of Loewe’s activity, the income multiplying by more than seven times during his mandate to approach 2 billion euros, estimate the sources of the market.
Contacted by WWD, Dior refused more comments on what Anderson has in his sleeve.
The news of Anderson’s new position confirms that the previous WWD reports that it had started working on the Dior Men’s Spring 2026 collection.
Chiuri has directed the brand’s clothing collections for the brand since 2016. It has been due to the Cruise 2026 collection in Parade Dior on May 27 in Rome.
Thursday’s shareholders’ meeting was mainly devoted to LVMH’s results in 2024, although Arnault spoke frankly about how the first quarter of 2025 started well, but worsened in March while Trump prices began to go around the stock markets and consumers who have endeavored worldwide.
“That said, we remain optimistic and we are continuing our investments,” said Arnault, seeming to be relaxed and speaking out of the time. “We continue to master manufacturing, which is always something essential, and we stick to our values.”
He presented the importance of creativity, “which is at the heart of everything we do” and the entrepreneurial spirit that he encourages LVMH.
Arnault also stressed that “the continuation of the best quality, the highest quality, is at the heart of our success”.
His passion for the products was obvious: he appointed his headquarters at the Podium office with aero hot air balloon in Louis Vuitton who was developed with the clock specialist the 1839 sword, which the group acquired last year.
Louis Vuitton Montgolfière Aéro Corloge.
With the kind permission of Louis Vuitton
At one point, he asked the new LVMH financial director, Cécile Cabanis, to hold the jewel -shaped timing device, modeled after a hot air balloon and the size of a small table lamp. (The limited edition article has sold 55,000 euros.)
The luxury titan also boasted of the quality of the mechanical watches of Vuitton, the dynamism of the Dior makeup and its wild perfume, always n ° 1 in the world, and sumptuous flagship stores for Vuitton and Tiffany in Milan, which opened its doors earlier this month.
He then spoke of two “phenomena” which gave him hope for the future of LVMH affairs, despite the current geopolitical and economic disorders.
The first is the rise in standard of living and the creation of wealth in the whole world, which increases the number of people who can consume luxury products.
“This should normally – despite the ups and downs according to economic circumstances – continue, there is therefore all the reasons to be convinced, like me, that the power of extraordinary attraction of our brands will continue,” he said.
The second phenomenon, “which is more unfavorable, is that which we currently observe: inflation and its consequences, which is an increase in interest rates.”
Arnault explained that this mainly affects the “ambitious” clientele, which is used to clarify the objective of LVMH to continue to prioritize high quality products on volume.
“The larger the company, the more it needs to work with influential customers to continue to grow,” he said. “We always prioritize the growth of our highest products, even if it means growing a little more … Finally, what matters is to have the greatest long -term desirability.
“Maybe we will have a little less growth,” he continued. “Okay, that doesn’t bother me at all, as long as we make the best products.”
Asked about the imminent rates, Arnault stressed that it was essential to “recreate a climate of trust, trade and reciprocal relations” with the United States, which represented 25% of LVMH sales in 2024. “I do not know if we will succeed, but I hope.”
It allowed that if the European luxury sector is found with high customs tasks, the LVMH can be “forced to increase our American production, inevitably to avoid customs and all this”.
Louis Vuitton has three American sites for the production of leather goods, which provide around a third of local needs and can accelerate capacity, as indicated. The jeweler Tiffany & Co. also manages to provide most of its American stores with its American production.
“If Europe does not negotiate intelligently, they will have this consequence in many companies,” he said. “I have already heard that several companies are planning to increase their capacities in the United States, but we must not say that it is the fault of companies. It will be Brussels’s fault if it were to happen. ”
The shareholders were proposed a dividend of 13 euros per share, equally with 2023.
- With the contributions of Lily Templeton
