“I am deeply involved in making things in the studio. The studio is my laboratory.”
These words by American sculptor Linda Benglis offer a key to understanding Jonathan Anderson’s Fall-Winter 2026–2027 Haute Couture collection for Dior.
© ADRIEN DIRAND | © Dior
For his second Haute Couture collection at Dior, Anderson was not concerned with trends or ornamentation. Instead, he turned his attention to a more fundamental question: how clothing acquires form.
Knotting, pleating, draping. The transformation of flat materials into three-dimensional structures on the body echoes Benglis’s sculptural practice, in which two-dimensional matter is tied, folded, and molded into physical form. Using this relationship as a point of departure, Anderson revisits the very nature of form through the language of couture.
© Dior
The collection is also closely linked to Grammar of Forms, the exhibition presented concurrently at the Musée Rodin. There, new couture creations, Dior archival pieces, and works by Linda Benglis were brought together, making visible a dialogue between fashion and sculpture.
Benglis’s work begins with an attentive understanding of materials and their inherent properties. Bronze, wax, paper, latex, foam, glitter—each material behaves according to its own logic, and even chance becomes part of the final work.
© Dior
Anderson applies this philosophy to couture.
Handcrafted pleats and knots, dramatic draping, metallic and iridescent surfaces, paper-like textures, and the illusion of wire mesh recreated through delicate silver netting. These garments are conceived not merely as clothing, but as sculptural forms completed through their interaction with the body.
© Dior
The oversized bows and knot motifs that recur throughout the collection function not as decoration, but as visual markers of the very moment when form comes into being.
What makes this collection particularly compelling is the way it balances experimentation with a return to Dior’s foundations.
Copyright Dior
The exhibition text for Grammar of Forms revisits Christian Dior’s concept of “the architecture of clothing,” first articulated through the New Look of 1947. Sculptural silhouettes supported by internal structures, boning, and padding redefined the body. Dior later continued this architectural approach through collections named “Zig-Zag,” “Tulip,” “A,” and “H,” each proposing a new interpretation of form.
Copyright Dior
What Anderson seeks to inherit is not a specific silhouette from the past.
Rather, it is:
The idea of clothing as structure.
The act of inventing form.
These principles run throughout the collection and form the basis of his approach to couture.
The collection’s colors and embellishments are informed by two places that have long shaped Linda Benglis’s artistic world.
The first is Ahmedabad, in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Inspired by the peacocks Benglis encountered at the Sarabhai family residence, her Peacock series is reimagined here through vibrant floral motifs and intricate beadwork.
Copyright Dior
The second is Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Benglis continues to maintain her studio.
The lush environment of Ahmedabad and the arid atmosphere of Santa Fe intersect throughout the collection’s floral imagery and chromatic compositions.
Copyright Dior
Anderson also turns his attention to eighteenth-century Indian chintz, a textile tradition that profoundly influenced European decorative arts. Fragments of these patterns appear on creations such as the Lady Dior and the Petit Dîner pieces, connecting historical craftsmanship with contemporary couture.
FFor Jonathan Anderson, this Haute Couture collection is not an exercise in referencing Dior’s history. Rather, it is an attempt to reconsider the possibilities inherent in couture itself.
Sculpture and clothing.
Body and material.
Tradition and experimentation.
Moving between these opposing yet interconnected ideas, the collection’s 66 looks propose a vision of fashion that extends beyond dressing the body toward the creation of form itself.
To borrow Linda Benglis’s words, the Dior atelier has become a laboratory once again—a place where form is not simply reproduced, but discovered.
Copyright Dior
Contact:
Christian Dior
TEL: +81 120-02-1947
(Toll-free within Japan)
These words by American sculptor Linda Benglis offer a key to understanding Jonathan Anderson’s Fall-Winter 2026–2027 Haute Couture collection for Dior.
© ADRIEN DIRAND | © DiorFor his second Haute Couture collection at Dior, Anderson was not concerned with trends or ornamentation. Instead, he turned his attention to a more fundamental question: how clothing acquires form.
Knotting, pleating, draping. The transformation of flat materials into three-dimensional structures on the body echoes Benglis’s sculptural practice, in which two-dimensional matter is tied, folded, and molded into physical form. Using this relationship as a point of departure, Anderson revisits the very nature of form through the language of couture.
© DiorThe collection is also closely linked to Grammar of Forms, the exhibition presented concurrently at the Musée Rodin. There, new couture creations, Dior archival pieces, and works by Linda Benglis were brought together, making visible a dialogue between fashion and sculpture.
Reconsidering Couture as Sculpture
Benglis’s work begins with an attentive understanding of materials and their inherent properties. Bronze, wax, paper, latex, foam, glitter—each material behaves according to its own logic, and even chance becomes part of the final work.
© DiorAnderson applies this philosophy to couture.
Handcrafted pleats and knots, dramatic draping, metallic and iridescent surfaces, paper-like textures, and the illusion of wire mesh recreated through delicate silver netting. These garments are conceived not merely as clothing, but as sculptural forms completed through their interaction with the body.
© DiorThe oversized bows and knot motifs that recur throughout the collection function not as decoration, but as visual markers of the very moment when form comes into being.
Reinterpreting the Spirit of the New Look
What makes this collection particularly compelling is the way it balances experimentation with a return to Dior’s foundations.
Copyright DiorThe exhibition text for Grammar of Forms revisits Christian Dior’s concept of “the architecture of clothing,” first articulated through the New Look of 1947. Sculptural silhouettes supported by internal structures, boning, and padding redefined the body. Dior later continued this architectural approach through collections named “Zig-Zag,” “Tulip,” “A,” and “H,” each proposing a new interpretation of form.
Copyright DiorWhat Anderson seeks to inherit is not a specific silhouette from the past.
Rather, it is:
The idea of clothing as structure.
The act of inventing form.
These principles run throughout the collection and form the basis of his approach to couture.
Two Landscapes: India and New Mexico
The collection’s colors and embellishments are informed by two places that have long shaped Linda Benglis’s artistic world.
The first is Ahmedabad, in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Inspired by the peacocks Benglis encountered at the Sarabhai family residence, her Peacock series is reimagined here through vibrant floral motifs and intricate beadwork.
Copyright DiorThe second is Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Benglis continues to maintain her studio.
The lush environment of Ahmedabad and the arid atmosphere of Santa Fe intersect throughout the collection’s floral imagery and chromatic compositions.
Copyright DiorAnderson also turns his attention to eighteenth-century Indian chintz, a textile tradition that profoundly influenced European decorative arts. Fragments of these patterns appear on creations such as the Lady Dior and the Petit Dîner pieces, connecting historical craftsmanship with contemporary couture.
Couture as a Way of Learning Form Again
FFor Jonathan Anderson, this Haute Couture collection is not an exercise in referencing Dior’s history. Rather, it is an attempt to reconsider the possibilities inherent in couture itself.
Sculpture and clothing.
Body and material.
Tradition and experimentation.
Moving between these opposing yet interconnected ideas, the collection’s 66 looks propose a vision of fashion that extends beyond dressing the body toward the creation of form itself.
To borrow Linda Benglis’s words, the Dior atelier has become a laboratory once again—a place where form is not simply reproduced, but discovered.
Copyright DiorContact:
Christian Dior
TEL: +81 120-02-1947
(Toll-free within Japan)
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