His appointment as creative director of both women’s and men’s wear may mark not just a changing of the guard, but a shift in the paradigm.
In a historic, if long-awaited, move, on Monday luxury goods behemoth LVMH named Jonathan Anderson creative director of Dior for women’s wear, men’s wear and couture, making him the first designer to unite all sides of the brand since Christian Dior himself.
Mr. Anderson is “one of the creative talents of his generation,” said Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH, in announcing the news — which also upends longstanding LVMH practice.
Since 2001, when LVMH transformed the Dior men’s line from a license to an integral part of the house, it has been conventional wisdom that no one designer can manage the burdens and pressures of both men’s and women’s wear, creating 10 different collections a year for what is now estimated to be a $9 billion brand.
Daring to rewrite those rules and concentrate all the power in the hands of a single designer is a risk for both brand and individual. But it also underscores the current precarious state of the industry, which has seen a broad slowdown in sales thanks to global political and economic unrest, and the general belief that a shake-up was needed.
Mr. Anderson’s appointment qualifies. It is the final step in what has been one of the most-drawn out succession dramas in modern fashion history as well as another move in an unprecedented shifting of fashion’s creative landscape, with 17 different brands naming new designers in 2025 — four of them at LVMH alone.
