By Jesse Scott
The stars could not have aligned more perfectly for Jonathan Anderson and Dior this season. On a splendid 18 degree day in the Jardin des Tuileries, in the midst of the sunniest Autumn/Winter Paris Fashion Week of my career (if not ever), Anderson created a park within a park that hearkened back to the halcyon days of Louis XIV’s court while also recalling the peaceful vistas of Giverny and Monet’s water lilies. The exclusive guest list, including EmRata, Anna Taylor Joy, Natalia Vodianova, Zita d’Hauteville, Future, and Charlize Theron, was greeted at the Place Concorde by an emerald green Dior entrance wall appearing radiant against a bright blue sky.
Passing beyond the wall into the Tuileries, the iconic garden commissioned by Catherine de Medici in 1564 then redesigned by Louis XIV, guests became the latest actors in a grand Parisian drama that has played out for centuries - with the park as the stage and the simple stroll as performance. The Tuileries were the Sun King’s playground but they were also the first gardens to be opened to the French public. Simultaneously symbolizing democratization and social stratification, they were the original place for Parisians to “see and be seen,” provided they abided by a strict dress code according to their social stature. Countless love stories and political spectacles unfolded here, and now Jonathan Anderson, in a grand octagonal construction mirroring the axial lines of the park, has added a new chapter of momentous encounters to its illustrious history.
Charlize Theron, Zita d'Hauteville, Jisoo, and Future were among the star studded attendees of Dior Women's Autumn/Winter 2026 runway show held in the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris (Images courtesy of Dior)
Rococo Silhouettes for Modern Royalty
The encyclopedic 66-look collection was a lesson in fashion history told through avant-garde techniques and mediums. Looks 1 and 2 recalled the bustle dress popularized in the early 1800s and forever associated with the Victorian era. Look 29 re-imagined the Junon dress, debuting in 1949 as of one Christian Dior’s earliest iconic designs, in denim petals instead of peacock-reminiscent tulle. Meanwhile, Look 3, anchored by a luxurious jacket covered with radiant ostrich feather motifs and fringes, conversed with the glories of Versailles.
Dior Women's Autumn/Winter 2026: Looks 1, 2, 3, 29 (Images courtesy of Dior)
The jacket, like many others in the collection, was covered with dozens of intricate buttons (I imagined a young Louis XVI having them fastened by courtiers). However, it was most notable for its tight hourglass silhouette. Anderson has brought new levels of cohesion to the Dior men’s and women’s collections since arriving at the maison; the exaggerated waists and precise tailoring that delighted me from the Men’s A/W 26 looks recurred in full force here (Looks 7, 12, and 26 are particularly representative examples). Whether constructed of shearling, lace, or tulle, or an unexpected mix of fabrics, the ensembles had a structure both ferocious and feminine; today’s Dior girl, it seems, embraces both the delicate and the daring.
Dior Women's Fall/Winter 2026: Looks 7, 12, 26 (Images courtesy of Dior)
Accessories Are Masterpieces
This season saw Anderson launch one of the most comprehensive and all-around stellar accessories collections I’ve seen in some time. Upon a catwalk bisecting his specially constructed lily pond just steps away from L’Orangerie, where Monet’s most iconic water lilies paintings are displayed, Anderson proposed a plethora of delightful bags and shoes recalling the vivid colors and joyous en plein air brushstrokes of the Impressionists. Heels popped in exuberant shades of cerulean and emerald mirroring the sky and lilies that served as their backdrop. One particularly playful bag resembled a turtle, while a more formal piece was delicately frosted with sequins along each stitch seam. Metal green clutches were adorned with 3D lily flowers. My personal favorite piece was a lacquered clutch, also emblazoned with a lily flower, which recalled the Japanese sensibilities that inspired Monet and was made unmistakably Dior by a bow detail. The archival bow and medallion insignias revived by Anderson this past season recurred throughout the collection, most memorably on totes and buttons. Finally, I would be remiss without mentioning the adorable dragonfly, dog, ruler, and spool of thread charms which will make the perfect spring gifts.
Dior Women's Autumn/Winter 2026 Finale (Images courtesy of Dior / Adrien Dirand)
This was Jonathan Anderson’s best collection for Dior yet. Never resting on his laurels, and forever a student of fashion history, he delivered a masterpiece of a show that even diverse factions of the Paris fashion community near-unanimously agree was a tour de force. You won’t find a more memorable promenade in the park.