The designer behind the Loewe viral puzzle bag is heading for Dior

If Jonathan Anderson is not already a familiar name, he is about to be.

If you follow fashionable, it is easy to forget that most people do not know who is exactly behind their favorite luxury brands. They could recognize the icons they created – the puzzle bag, the Loewe tomato, the pigeon clutch – but not necessarily the real name behind the big names of fashion like Dior and Fendi. And although Jonathan Anderson is one of the most influential fashion designers in the world today, he is still on the precipice of global recognition.

However, recent LVMH movements could change it. Jonathan Anderson officially heads to Dior, who caught one of the most sought after jobs, front and filled with fashionable pressure. On April 17, the French house announced that the former creative director of Loewe would take up a new challenge: “Christian Dior Couture announces that Jonathan Anderson is working on the Dior Homme Summer 2026 collection”, according to a press release, adding that Anderson would present his first collection in Paris on June 27.

Since the announcement of his departure from Loewe last month, Anderson has been one of the most closely watched free agents on the fashion market. He is the man, after all, responsible for the ascending success of Loewe in recent years, revival of a sleepy Spanish line better known for his long history with the Spanish royal family and his luxury handbags, in a haute couture juggernaut and one of the most successful ready-to-wear marks in LVMH. Dior, however, as the second line of the portfolio, is a brand new challenge.

However, the designer turned out to be one of the most prolific and versatile voices in fashion, designing up to 18 collections per year, as reported by the T magazine in 2019 (six for his homonym JW Anderson Line, 10 for Loewe, and two others in collaboration with Uniqlo). It has proven itself capable of all levels, fill the gap between advertising and the avant -garde with innovative – and often funny mass collections – practiced in Loewe, coveted mass collections in Uniqlo and an eccentric vision of the British heritage in JW Anderson. Oh, and it is also a fairly fabulous costume tree. Where he found the time to design for Luca Guadagnino Weird Film in addition to all this, we will never know.

What Anderson will do exactly with his first male collection – and what this meeting means for the wider company, which includes accessories, sewing and women’s clothing – remains to be seen. It should be noted that Dior Homme has launched an elegant and Slimane Slimane look, which, for good or evil, meant that the trends in men’s clothing dominated skinny jeans for the following decade (and probably still today). Anderson’s predecessor, Kim Jones, adopted a more fluid approach during his mandate at Dior Men, designing silhouettes and softer clothes which, although technically unisex, were certainly worn by everyone, not just men. In short, there is a real opportunity for Anderson to make a sensation here. And given its history of publication of industry transfer projects, construction accessories for waiting lists and clothes as bizarre as commercially viable, expect the unexpected for its beginnings-and perhaps a hint of fantasy and an elegant or two cascade.

This appointment is an intriguing development both for the designer himself and the fashion world in general. Of course, Anderson does not have exactly the keys to the entire Dior kingdom (for the moment) – medal clothes is only part of the global structure, but perhaps it is a sign of more changes to come. Could he ultimately cement Dior as THE Leader in male fashion? Will women buyers abandon their striped Dior t-shirts and their “I love” slingments for their new collection? For my part, I can’t wait to see what Jonathan Anderson could do with the Christian archives and workshop Dior at his disposal.