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Northern Ireland designer Jonathan Anderson has been selected as the creative director of Dior, female, male and haute couture, in place of Maria Grazia Chiuli, who has played the role for nearly a decade.
Anderson, who became a menswear designer in April, cements his position as a business star after a decade of ups and downs at Dior’s parent company LVMH.
LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnaud said Anderson (son of former Irish rugby captain Willie Anderson) was “one of the greatest creative talents” of his generation. “His unparalleled artistic signature will be a key asset in writing the next chapter in the history of the Dior house,” he added.
LVMH acquired minority stakes in 2013 on Anderson’s label of the same name. This is the same as being appointed creative director for Loewe, owned by LVMH. He transformed the well-received but stable Spanish label into one of the industry’s most acclaimed fashion houses.
HSBC estimates that sales have risen to nearly 8.7 billion euros under Chiuli, Dior’s first female creative director. However, sales have fallen over the past year from record highs during the industry-wide slowdown.
Retiring creative director Maria Grazia Ciri will be praised at the Dior Cruise 2026 Fashion Show in Rome in May ©Riccardo Antimiani/EPA-EPA-EPE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Sales at LVMH’s Bellwether Fashion and Leachers Goods Division, which houses Dior, fell 5% in the first quarter.
The rise in prices has contributed to consumer fatigue, and after a huge success under Chiuli and former CEO Pietro Beccari, Dior now needs a new creative impulse after being in charge of luxury brand Louis Vuitton. The departure of Chiuli was announced last week.
“Their greed and lack of creativity have been a hit (Dior), but I believe the second half of 2025 is flat and the brand could recover as 2026 grows again,” an analyst at HSBC wrote, adding that excitement about Anderson’s arrival is unlikely to help perform this year.
Anderson grew up in Magherafeld, Northern Ireland, and took his first break in fashion while working as a window dresser at Brown Thomas Department Store in Dublin.
His 2008 debut show of his own label JW Anderson, considered a disruptor in the world of design, presented a gender-fluid menswear collection of ruffled hot pants and leather dresses, and considered a serious disaster and considered giving up.
More recent collections show sophisticated commercial instincts. Anderson has also worked on high-profile projects such as costumes for challengers in recent Luca Guadagnino films, including designing Rihanna’s outfits for her 2023 Super Bowl appearances.
“A perspective is essential to shaping the output of a home,” Anderson said. “Of course I have mine as to what Dior is, but I’m sure a house like this is looking for an empathetic exchange.”
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The Dior and Loewe changes are part of a broader remodel of the talent of top creatives as brands from Gucci to Valentino, Balentino and Balenciaga are seeking updates in the more stringent luxury markets.
Anderson left Loue this year when former Proenza Schuler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez were nominated for creative directors.
While the LVMH group previously counts Alexander McQueen’s Sara Barton, among the ranks of Pucci’s Givenchy and Kamille Micheli, Chiuli’s departure highlights the lack of women in the role of creative leadership across the fashion industry.
Anderson will be presenting his first collection in Paris on June 27th.
Delphine Nuaneau, chairman and chief executive of Christian Dior Couture, said: “We are confident that he will bring a creative, modern vision to our home.
