Dior’s New Puzzle Pieces

Jonathan Anderson’s first Dior Cruise collection takes to L.A. Bright lights, big city. Film is everywhere. Christian Dior dressed Marlene Dietrich for Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright in 1950. “No Dior, no Dietrich,” she famously declared. For Anderson, Los Angeles brings cinema, art and contemporary ease into the French couture house.

Dior’s cruise collection

A jacket referencing the archives is paired with reworked jeans, detailed with fine silver chains. Californian poppies appear on dresses in oversized floral forms. Hitchcock’s use of Venetian blinds returns in stripes, light and shadow throughout the collection. Ed Ruscha, an artist Anderson had wanted to work with for years, brings words and American iconography into the picture.

Women and men share the runway. The mix of materials gives the collection a modern feel, from tweed and denim to chiffon and feathers. Philip Treacy’s feathered hats make the menswear more romantic. Some of the looks even bring the New Romantics to mind.

Flowy silhouettes at Dior’s cruise collection

The Northern Irish designer has an instinct for pairing Dior icons with modern classics. His first Cruise collection brings together film, art, romance and everyday dressing. I am curious to see where he takes Dior next.

Images from the Cruise Collection, courtesy of Dior