"Anderson's Dior was often beautiful - unconventionally, unexpectedly, occasionally unabashedly. Anderson embraced what he called the "overt prettiness" that characterises the maison, Dior's references to the 18th century and to the sweetness of the belle époque - both were there in panniered lace dresses, or gowns smothered in three-dimensional forget-me-nots, or knotted with great bows, or constructed like abstracted hydrangea blooms of pleated satin."
"What people often forget, in the overblown campy drama of Dior's waspish corsets and swirling skirts, is that it is a house born out of the horrors of war, restriction, austerity. It's all, perhaps, a counterintuitive reaction to that - an ideological armour, a retreat into nostalgia to obliterate the present. "Dior was born out of a time of trauma," said Anderson - seemingly making a connection between the then and now, and the relevance of his Dior for today. "From horror, to beauty.""
Jonathan Anderson reframed Dior's signature prettiness as protective armour, pairing ornate historical motifs with strong tailoring. The collection references 18th-century details and belle époque sweetness through panniered lace dresses, three-dimensional forget-me-nots, oversized bows, and pleated satin blooms. The presentation juxtaposed softness with forceful suiting and structured elements, suggesting escapism and a retreat into beauty as a response to contemporary trauma. Anderson connected Dior's postwar origins to present anxieties, adopting nostalgic decoration alongside practical modern silhouettes. The result combined conventional prettiness with unexpected strength, theatrical craft, and conceptual resilience.
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