Latest news with #JonathanAnderson
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Jonathan Anderson: Fellow fashionistas on the Irishman guiding Dior's future
In two weeks' time in Paris , Irish designer Jonathan Anderson will make his much-heralded debut as creative director of Dior , the most famous fashion house in the world, with his first collection of men's wear. His appointment will bring all the collections – menswear, womenswear and haute couture – under the wing of one designer for the first time since the death of founder Christian Dior in 1957. Dior himself came to Dublin in 1950 to open the Dior boutique in Brown Thomas . A jewel in the crown of fashion conglomerate LVMH's 16 fashion brands with a huge global reach, Dior quadrupled sales to more than €9 billion in 2023 but saw them decrease to €8.7 billion in 2024. Given the current slowdown in the luxury sector, which in France contributes more than 4 per cent of the country's GDP, Anderson's role will be challenging. If Anderson also continues his own brand JWA and his long-established collaboration with Uniqlo, that will amount to 18 collections a year, making him, at the age of 41, fashion's most outstanding and prolific designer. 'He plays by his own rules – fearlessly,' Anna Wintour of Vogue has said of him. 'He knows what people want before they know what they want,' observes Paris-based Irish couturier Sean Byrne . 'He has created a universe for himself which a lot of designers can't do very well.' READ MORE Jonathan William Anderson was born in Magherafelt, Co Derry in 1984, eldest son of the celebrated former Irish rugby captain and coach Willie Anderson , a farmer's son from Sixmilecross in Co Tyrone, and his wife Heather Buckley, a teacher. Anderson's younger brother Thomas, a lawyer, works with him as operations director and his sister Chloe is a pharmacist. They are a close-knit family. [ Dior appoints Irishman Jonathan Anderson as sole creative director Opens in new window ] Jonathan's talent, drive and love of drama were evident from an early age, as well as a strong business sense, his father has mother is the daughter of a talented English textile designer, Jim Buckley, who came to work in Northern Ireland and whom Jonathan has always credited as a huge influence in his life. After leaving the local Protestant grammar school where he was diagnosed as dyslexic, Anderson studied acting in New York – 'full-on Stanislavski for two years' – before dropping out and returning to Dublin where he landed a job in Prada menswear in Brown Thomas. Team captain Willie Anderson, Jonathan's father, and the rest of the Ireland side famously face down New Zealand as the All Blacks preform the haka at Lansdowne Road in 1989. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho That period also saw him come out as gay. At a recent award ceremony at Trinity College Dublin , he raised laughter describing how much he enjoyed partying in Dublin at the time, asking: 'and does that club called The George still exist?' University Philosophical Society presented The Honorary Patronage to JW Anderson. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw In the store, his imaginative merchandising attracted the attention of Prada's right-hand woman, the late Manuela Pavesi, who offered him a job in London. With her encouragement, he applied to every fashion college in Britain 'and every single one turned me down'. An offer finally came from the London College of Fashion at the then newly established menswear course. When he graduated in 2005 with first-class honours, he started styling and consulting, rebranding a luxury British underwear company Sunspel while his sell-out collaborations with Topshop, Aldo and Swarovski marked him out as one to watch. With financial support from his family, he launched his first menswear collection in 2008, becoming quickly known for his groundbreaking street style aesthetic which combined creativity with commercial appeal. Designer Jonathan Anderson walks the runway at the JW Anderson Spring/Summer 2024 show in Milan. Photograph: Pietro S D'Aprano/Getty His shows, upending conventional notions of male/female attire, always attracted attention. 'Clothing makes people question identity. Their codes question gender – why should buttons be on different sides for men than women?' he once queried. Andrew Bell, an Irish designer who now works with the Polene handbag brand in Paris, recalls working with Anderson, one of 17 interns in the summer of 2013, as JWA was expanding. 'It was five-six days a week, 12-hour days on menswear, so it was super intense. He was moody, intense, a perfectionist, maybe not the warmest, but a visionary, extremely cultured and well read. He allowed us freedom to explore and experiment which was quite unique for a designer at the time.' South Korea footballer Hwang Hee-Chan poses with the Loewe puzzle bag. Photograph: by Han Myung-Gu/WireImage [ Irish designer JW Anderson named as one of Time's most influential people for 2024 Opens in new window ] That collection for men, with its skirts, medieval-style tunics with ruffled boots and boiled wool tops 'was such a statement of masculinity', says Bell. He describes Anderson's managerial skills and leadership qualities as 'like an orchestra conductor who can synthesise discordant harmonies that work. He is a true creative director'. Anderson's big break came that year when LVMH took a 46 per cent stake in his brand and hired him to helm the Madrid-based leatherwear brand Loewe. Behind the deal was Delphine Arnault , daughter of LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault. She is now chief executive of Dior so her association with Anderson has been a long one. As the fashion world learned how to pronounce the name Loewe ('low–ehvey'), Anderson immediately became involved in every aspect of its rebranding, aiming to turn it into a cultural rather than a fashion brand. Under his stewardship from 2014 to 2024, the sleepy Spanish luxury brand (its sales in 1996 hovered around $2 million) was revived and turned into a global superstar business of $2 billion. I am very happy for Jonathan and his new appointment. He has made stimulating and exciting work over the last decade and I am looking forward to seeing that energy at Dior — Simone Rocha His first bag, the Puzzle , based on an origami construction, became – and remains – a best seller. One of his proudest achievements was establishing the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, an annual award that recognises excellence among makers. His witty designs made headlines – whether pigeon bags, heirloom tomato-inspired clutches, upside-down rose-heeled stilettos, balloon sandals or, more recently, beautiful hooped floral dresses for spring 2025. Riccardo Simonetti wearing a pink tee from Palomoand a JW Anderson clutch in pigeon shape. Photograph:White high heels with rose during the Loewe show at Paris Fashion 2024. Photograph:Models present creations from the Spring/Summer 2024 Womenswear collection by Jonathan Anderson for Loewe during Paris Fashion Week His collaborations with global superstars and celebrities tend to fire up the internet: Rihanna, whose red leather corset at the 2023 Super Bowl revealed her pregnancy; Beyoncé's see-through catsuit with black hand motifs for her Renaissance tour, or his costumes for Zendaya for Luka Guadagnino's movie Challengers last year, are just some examples. His campaigns are always talking points, notably the one with then 88-year-old Maggie Smith modelling one of his celebrated Puzzle bags in October 2023. His makeover of a post-Bond Daniel Craig in the Loewe menswear winter 2024 campaign in cargo trousers, leather jacket, chunky boots with a multicoloured handknit decorated with a poppy abstract print by US artist Richard Hawkins was described by GQ as 'kooky, eclectic and really f**king cool'. According to Bell, Anderson is 'obsessed with the zeitgeist and so good at encapsulating the moment. He is now head of the biggest fashion brand in the world. Whatever he does is going to be super exciting.' Moooood — NFL (@NFL) Rihanna performs at the Super Bowl. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Irish designer Simone Rocha says: 'I am very happy for Jonathan and his new appointment. He has made stimulating and exciting work over the last decade and I am looking forward to seeing that energy at Dior.' Another Irish designer, Sorcha O'Raghallaigh, has remained a fan since she and Anderson were selected for Create, a showcase for design talent in Ireland, in its first year in Brown Thomas in 2011. 'On every aspect of Loewe, he has been strong – the imagery, the campaigns and exciting pieces on the runway. His accessories are always on point. I still cherish a pair of ballerina shoes with ankle ribbons and gold hourglass heels bought when I was working in Italy. I can't wait to see what he will do at Dior," O'Raghallaigh says. [ 'Forget about glamour': Jonathan Anderson offers advice to would-be fashion designers as he receives TCD honour Opens in new window ] An avid art collector and voracious reader, Anderson's cultural references are wide and all-embracing. The pale pastel shades in his collection for spring 2022, for instance, were based on his viewing of a newly restored 15th century Pontormo painting in Florence. He regularly collaborates with artists he admires. His ability to combine both the avant-garde and the commercial remains consistently his forte. 'I am always trying to find subtlety in newness. I am always curious about other people's creativity. I have two incredible teams and if you have the right people around you, they prevent you from blowing up. Some have been with me for 11 years, some for 15 years. I can be tough, but I always hire people that I admire and have potential. I want people to challenge me and feel able to express themselves. I don't like yes people,' he said in a recent interview with Bella Freud, Former womenswear director at Brown Thomas, Shelly Corkery, reckons he will widen the appeal of Dior while keeping its DNA. 'He has a good commercial eye, is a visionary and, like Prada, pushes boundaries. There is always novelty in his collections. With his Loewe logo denim, little vests and T-shirts that young people could afford, he widened its demographic. He will modernise Dior. He will have more fun with the brand and widen the ready to wear so that a younger customer can buy into it.' A gifted communicator, with the voice of a trained actor (which he is) Anderson is a storyteller, loquacious, always adept at articulating his ideas. He spoke frankly and thoughtfully to Bella Freud in a recent interview about his background and his approach to fashion, and he described how his mother narrowly escaped the Omagh bombing in 1998. Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz attend the Loewe 2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week. Photograph:'Growing up, the North of Ireland was a complex place to live and it's important for me that I did grow up there and it helps me understand what I am today. The great thing about Ireland is storytelling and young people are curious, want to know you and that you believe in what you are selling, so you have to prove that you are not selling a sterile dream – otherwise it gets very corporate,' he said. Christian Dior himself was famously superstitious, believing in signs and symbols. Predicting the future is what great fashion designers do. Willie Anderson in his autobiography, Crossing the Line, tells a story of how a younger Jonathan, given the intense pressure around one of his early shows, decided holy water might give it a boost. 'There wasn't a lot of that around the house, but [Catholic] friends rode to the rescue delivering enough to float a small pleasure cruiser. Heather was on hand when the models were getting dressed. 'Jonny, will I sprinkle a bit on each model or how do you want to do this?' she asked. 'It's already sorted Mum,' he replied, 'It's in the steam irons so we can spread it!''
Vogue
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
On the Podcast: GQ's Will Welch on the Spring 2026 Menswear Shows—'Getting Dressed With a Sense of Occasion and Formality Feels Exciting'
The spring 2026 menswear shows are getting started—Pitti Uomo officially kicks off tomorrow, but this past weekend Martine Rose and Charles Jeffrey Loverboy showed collections in London. Ahead of what is sure to be an impactful season, Will Welch, GQ's global editorial director joined Nicole Phelps on The Run-Through to discuss the current state of menswear. 'This [season] feels particularly big,' says Welch, referring to the debuts that will take place in the coming weeks. Chief among them is Jonathan Anderson's introduction as the newly appointed creative director at Dior, but also the American designer Michael Rider's first show for Celine and Julian Klausner's inaugural Dries Van Noten menswear show following his womenswear debut last March. 'I love going into a show with as open of a mind as possible,' says Welch. 'I think it's always interesting when somebody has come out of the atelier and is now taking over as the designer—because you never know to what extent they were successful at serving the vision of the existing designer and what was their own voice. I started working at GQ under Jim Nelson, my predecessor editor in chief, and I was serving his vision, and then got the chance to express my own vision, which was related but also different. And it's really fun to see that.' Welch also talks about the push he's feeling to get dressed up—a concept that GQ has equally been urging its readers to get into. 'Post-pandemic it was hard, I think in general, for men to get excited to get dressed again; there was this ease and this casualness, [but] people got tired of that, so there's this idea of really getting dressed now,' he explains. 'Wanting to get dressed with a sense of occasion and formality feels exciting.' Tune in to the conversation to learn about Welch's favorite under-the-radar designers, what it takes to get Brad Pitt into thigh-high Saint Laurent boots, and how Andre 3000 ended up designing Welch's suit for this year's Met Gala celebrating 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.'
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Carl O'Brien: ‘Jonathan Anderson shows passion - not CAO points - is what matters'
Growing up, says Jonathan Anderson, the idea of becoming a fashion designer seemed far-fetched. 'I remember at school the list of careers was a doctor, a dentist or a lawyer. Becoming an actor or a designer felt like you would be going into a line of poverty,' he told the Gloss a few years ago. His scenic route into fashion took him via the National Youth Theatre, into drama school in Washington until he returned home and got a job at Brown Thomas in Dublin as a merchandiser for Prada. Irish designer Jonathan Anderson appears on the catwalk during the Paris Fashion Week. The Derryman was recently named as creative director of both men's and women's couture at Christian Dior, one of the world's most prestigious fashion houses. He is the first person since Dior himself to steer both couture lines at the same time. READ MORE As Leaving Certs complete their final exams, it can be a powerful and sometimes overwhelming moment of transition. Anderson shows you don't need to have it all figured out. Choosing passion over pressure to conform is a useful life lesson. CAO courses do not have to be the be-all and end-all. A passion for what make you tick and gives you a sense of purpose is key. This week, we'll be exploring the various pathways for schools leavers – PLCs, apprenticeships, traineeships, tertiary degrees and the CAO; there are genuinely are more pathways than ever for students to explore. Further education Learning styles at third level are very different from those associated with the traditional Leaving Cert. One in five students do not progress to second year of college – and the numbers dropping out are on the rise. Yet, students who opt to apply for a one year further education level five programme in their local Education Training Board (ETB) college in the area are, in many ways, doubly advantaged. If they secure sufficiently high grades in their Post Leaving Cert (PLC) course, they may well be offered a place in their preferred CAO course irrespective of the Leaving Cert points score they previously secured. Secondly, their experience of acquiring self-directed learning skills in small class groups can help them successfully make the transition to the learning style required to succeed at our third level. (In fact, dropout rates among college students who completed PLC courses are lower than students entering via the traditional CAO round one route.) Check the Further Education Course Hub (Fetch courses) to expand students' horizons. Places are allocated by each individual college and applications are available online on each of their websites. There is no deadline, but all places are allocated on a first come first served basis, based on suitability. Exams It was a quiet day on the Leaving Cert front with Mandarin Chinese and agricultural science among the subjects examined on Monday. Both had challenging moments, say teachers, but provided a fair test overall. Up tomorrow for Leaving Certs it's Spanish (9.30-12.30pm) and Chemistry (2-5pm). Meanwhile, we'll be back tomorrow with a look at one of the best-kept secrets of the education world: tertiary degrees.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Jonathan Anderson is a reminder why we shouldn't push our kids into ‘bullshit jobs'
Jonathan Anderson, of Magherafelt in Derry, is the new creative director of both men's and women's couture at Christian Dior, one of the world's most prestigious fashion houses. His transition into the role will make him the first person since Dior himself to steer both couture lines simultaneously. Anderson announced the promotion on his Instagram with an image of a small ladybird atop a bed of variously sized leather appliqué shamrocks. He had already been at the helm of the brand's menswear output, and before that, creative director at Loewe (a Spanish luxury fashion house best known for its accessories), where his 11-year tenure was credited with completely resurrecting the brand as a commercial and critical success. In that period he oversaw garments that adorned Beyoncé on her momentous Renaissance tour (notably the famous 'hands' bodysuit ) and the red jumpsuit and breastplate that Rihanna wore to headline the half-time show at Super Bowl 2023 – a garment perfectly designed to allow the singer to reveal her second pregnancy at the end of the performance. You may not know Anderson, but you've likely seen his work in action. He also served as costume designer for recent Luca Guadagnino directed films, Queer and Challengers (both 2023). In addition to sales figures, it is Anderson's loyalty from these pre-eminent icons of popular culture and art, and the critical acclaim that seems to follow his every move, that have cemented his status as a polymathic force in couture. Anderson's is not the typical fashion upbringing. He grew up on a farm in Derry and his father is Willie Anderson, capped 27 times for the Irish rugby team – his brother Thomas (TJ) played for Ulster and Connacht. Jonathan, eldest of three, was born six weeks before his dad's first run-out for the national team. Father and son have spoken about parallels between sports and art, comparing the palpable nervous energy at Fashion Week to that in the dressingrooms of Lansdowne Road. Ditto for philosophies of captaincy and managing design teams – sycophants can't help you steer a winning vision, in a global artistic campaign or on a muddy pitch. Perhaps his English-teacher mother is a more obvious artistic influence. Jonathan sounds like a classic, ahead-of-the-curve teacher's kid. His father said : 'We were lucky in that we never had to tell them to go upstairs and study. They were all very driven to achieve. They get that from us, I think.' Anderson's reflections on his upbringing made me think about fostering young people's creative passions. Increasingly, it seems that the main appetite we should fight to instil in children is one for searching out things they care deeply about and within which they can immerse themselves. And – perhaps equally importantly – not taking it personally when our kids don't love what we love. READ MORE Anderson talks inspiringly about scavenging the world for influences, mentioning visual references as diverse as the luminous, 'chiffon-like' colour of Renaissance painter Pontormo's The Deposition of the Cross (1528), the candid Fire Island photography of the PaJaMa collective , and Glyn Philpot's portraiture. This passion for process seems an especially potent consideration in a world in which it's hard to know how technology will impact the future of work. Philosophising about which of us will or won't be 'replaceable by AI' is risky speculation. We shouldn't encourage people away from work towards which they are naturally inclined without very good reason. The right combination of process and purpose is powerful, and the moral and artistic dignity of meaningful work can be transformative, especially in a world heaving with careers that lack it I recently watched The Quilters on Netflix, a documentary highlighting a group of incarcerated men in a maximum-security Missouri prison who make personalised, often enormous, quilts for local foster children. The men receive a letter with specifics about colours and themes and set to work creating masterpieces. Far from the rarefied domain of haute couture, this passionate design team navigate satisfying clients' wish lists within the constraints of quilting's complex sewn geometry. At one end, we have a world of high-end design that enjoys global cultural attention as well as boundless material resources. The other manages with donated fabric scraps and is anomalous amid the more typical forced labour options in US prisons. It is easier to be excited about the quilts' ultimate recipients than buyers of fashion accessories that few can afford, which are bleak (albeit beautiful) tokens of a world unravelling under inequality. The highly emotional responses to thank you letters in The Quilters are a reminder that this kind of work, involving skilful manifestations of care for underprivileged people, benefits everyone. The men's descriptions of the redemptive power of craftwork resurfaced while I read interviews of Anderson discussing his artistic influences. The right combination of process and purpose is powerful, and the moral and artistic dignity of meaningful work can be transformative, especially in a world heaving with careers that lack it – so-called ' bullshit jobs', as David Graeber put it in 2018 . Work that feels purposeful seems to be in shorter supply than ever. As a knitter, I'm sensitive to the fact that some crafts are professionally unsustainable except in special cases. Every time I knit a cabled baby jumper for someone, and they say, 'You could sell these!' I think, 'It took 30 hours, what would I charge?!'. However, most creative practices are not like this. For argument's sake, even if we grant that artificial intelligence could replace a lot of creative work we do now, should we passively facilitate it? The replacement of people by technology involves individuals and institutions choosing systems over people for this work. Creative work, all the way from high-end fashion down, involves unique brain-to-hand activities that have historically been what we look to when we want to understand the lives of people in other times and places. We should be very slow to allow it to be outsourced to plunderous programmes scraping data from images – usually without permission – made by the very people it aspires to replace. Dr Clare Moriarty is a postdoctoral researcher working at Trinity Research in Social Sciences in Trinity College Dublin
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Dior's Jonathan Anderson: ‘Moody, intense, a perfectionist, maybe not the warmest, but a visionary'
In two weeks' time in Paris , Irish designer Jonathan Anderson will make his much-heralded debut as creative director of Dior , the most famous fashion house in the world, with his first collection of men's wear. His appointment will bring all the collections – menswear, womenswear and haute couture – under the wing of one designer for the first time since the death of founder Christian Dior in 1957. Dior himself came to Dublin in 1950 to open the Dior boutique in Brown Thomas . A jewel in the crown of fashion conglomerate LVMH's 16 fashion brands with a huge global reach, Dior quadrupled sales to more than €9 billion in 2023 but saw them decrease to €8.7 billion in 2024. Given the current slowdown in the luxury sector, which in France contributes more than 4 per cent of the country's GDP, Anderson's role will be challenging. If Anderson also continues his own brand JWA and his long-established collaboration with Uniqlo, that will amount to 18 collections a year, making him, at the age of 41, fashion's most outstanding and prolific designer. 'He plays by his own rules – fearlessly,' Anna Wintour of Vogue has said of him. 'He knows what people want before they know what they want,' observes Paris-based Irish couturier Sean Byrne . 'He has created a universe for himself which a lot of designers can't do very well.' READ MORE Jonathan William Anderson was born in Magherafelt, Co Derry in 1984, eldest son of the celebrated former Irish rugby captain and coach Willie Anderson , a farmer's son from Sixmilecross in Co Tyrone, and his wife Heather Buckley, a teacher. Anderson's younger brother Thomas, a lawyer, works with him as operations director and his sister Chloe is a pharmacist. They are a close-knit family. [ Dior appoints Irishman Jonathan Anderson as sole creative director Opens in new window ] Jonathan's talent, drive and love of drama were evident from an early age, as well as a strong business sense, his father has mother is the daughter of a talented English textile designer, Jim Buckley, who came to work in Northern Ireland and whom Jonathan has always credited as a huge influence in his life. After leaving the local Protestant grammar school where he was diagnosed as dyslexic, Anderson studied acting in New York – 'full-on Stanislavski for two years' – before dropping out and returning to Dublin where he landed a job in Prada menswear in Brown Thomas. Team captain Willie Anderson, Jonathan's father, and the rest of the Ireland side famously face down New Zealand as the All Blacks preform the haka at Lansdowne Road in 1989. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho That period also saw him come out as gay. At a recent award ceremony at Trinity College Dublin , he raised laughter describing how much he enjoyed partying in Dublin at the time, asking: 'and does that club called The George still exist?' University Philosophical Society presented The Honorary Patronage to JW Anderson. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw In the store, his imaginative merchandising attracted the attention of Prada's right-hand woman, the late Manuela Pavesi, who offered him a job in London. With her encouragement, he applied to every fashion college in Britain 'and every single one turned me down'. An offer finally came from the London College of Fashion at the then newly established menswear course. When he graduated in 2005 with first-class honours, he started styling and consulting, rebranding a luxury British underwear company Sunspel while his sell-out collaborations with Topshop, Aldo and Swarovski marked him out as one to watch. With financial support from his family, he launched his first menswear collection in 2008, becoming quickly known for his groundbreaking street style aesthetic which combined creativity with commercial appeal. Designer Jonathan Anderson walks the runway at the JW Anderson Spring/Summer 2024 show in Milan. Photograph: Pietro S D'Aprano/Getty His shows, upending conventional notions of male/female attire, always attracted attention. 'Clothing makes people question identity. Their codes question gender – why should buttons be on different sides for men than women?' he once queried. Andrew Bell, an Irish designer who now works with the Polene handbag brand in Paris, recalls working with Anderson, one of 17 interns in the summer of 2013, as JWA was expanding. 'It was five-six days a week, 12-hour days on menswear, so it was super intense. He was moody, intense, a perfectionist, maybe not the warmest, but a visionary, extremely cultured and well read. He allowed us freedom to explore and experiment which was quite unique for a designer at the time.' South Korea footballer Hwang Hee-Chan poses with the Loewe puzzle bag. Photograph: by Han Myung-Gu/WireImage [ Irish designer JW Anderson named as one of Time's most influential people for 2024 Opens in new window ] That collection for men, with its skirts, medieval-style tunics with ruffled boots and boiled wool tops 'was such a statement of masculinity', says Bell. He describes Anderson's managerial skills and leadership qualities as 'like an orchestra conductor who can synthesise discordant harmonies that work. He is a true creative director'. Anderson's big break came that year when LVMH took a 46 per cent stake in his brand and hired him to helm the Madrid-based leatherwear brand Loewe. Behind the deal was Delphine Arnault , daughter of LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault. She is now chief executive of Dior so her association with Anderson has been a long one. As the fashion world learned how to pronounce the name Loewe ('low–ehvey'), Anderson immediately became involved in every aspect of its rebranding, aiming to turn it into a cultural rather than a fashion brand. Under his stewardship from 2014 to 2024, the sleepy Spanish luxury brand (its sales in 1996 hovered around $2 million) was revived and turned into a global superstar business of $2 billion. I am very happy for Jonathan and his new appointment. He has made stimulating and exciting work over the last decade and I am looking forward to seeing that energy at Dior — Simone Rocha His first bag, the Puzzle , based on an origami construction, became – and remains – a best seller. One of his proudest achievements was establishing the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, an annual award that recognises excellence among makers. His witty designs made headlines – whether pigeon bags, heirloom tomato-inspired clutches, upside-down rose-heeled stilettos, balloon sandals or, more recently, beautiful hooped floral dresses for spring 2025. Riccardo Simonetti wearing a pink tee from Palomoand a JW Anderson clutch in pigeon shape. Photograph:White high heels with rose during the Loewe show at Paris Fashion 2024. Photograph:Models present creations from the Spring/Summer 2024 Womenswear collection by Jonathan Anderson for Loewe during Paris Fashion Week His collaborations with global superstars and celebrities tend to fire up the internet: Rihanna, whose red leather corset at the 2023 Super Bowl revealed her pregnancy; Beyoncé's see-through catsuit with black hand motifs for her Renaissance tour, or his costumes for Zendaya for Luka Guadagnino's movie Challengers last year, are just some examples. His campaigns are always talking points, notably the one with then 88-year-old Maggie Smith modelling one of his celebrated Puzzle bags in October 2023. His makeover of a post-Bond Daniel Craig in the Loewe menswear winter 2024 campaign in cargo trousers, leather jacket, chunky boots with a multicoloured handknit decorated with a poppy abstract print by US artist Richard Hawkins was described by GQ as 'kooky, eclectic and really f**king cool'. According to Bell, Anderson is 'obsessed with the zeitgeist and so good at encapsulating the moment. He is now head of the biggest fashion brand in the world. Whatever he does is going to be super exciting.' Moooood — NFL (@NFL) Rihanna performs at the Super Bowl. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Irish designer Simone Rocha says: 'I am very happy for Jonathan and his new appointment. He has made stimulating and exciting work over the last decade and I am looking forward to seeing that energy at Dior.' Another Irish designer, Sorcha O'Raghallaigh, has remained a fan since she and Anderson were selected for Create, a showcase for design talent in Ireland, in its first year in Brown Thomas in 2011. 'On every aspect of Loewe, he has been strong – the imagery, the campaigns and exciting pieces on the runway. His accessories are always on point. I still cherish a pair of ballerina shoes with ankle ribbons and gold hourglass heels bought when I was working in Italy. I can't wait to see what he will do at Dior," O'Raghallaigh says. [ 'Forget about glamour': Jonathan Anderson offers advice to would-be fashion designers as he receives TCD honour Opens in new window ] An avid art collector and voracious reader, Anderson's cultural references are wide and all-embracing. The pale pastel shades in his collection for spring 2022, for instance, were based on his viewing of a newly restored 15th century Pontormo painting in Florence. He regularly collaborates with artists he admires. His ability to combine both the avant-garde and the commercial remains consistently his forte. 'I am always trying to find subtlety in newness. I am always curious about other people's creativity. I have two incredible teams and if you have the right people around you, they prevent you from blowing up. Some have been with me for 11 years, some for 15 years. I can be tough, but I always hire people that I admire and have potential. I want people to challenge me and feel able to express themselves. I don't like yes people,' he said in a recent interview with Bella Freud, Former womenswear director at Brown Thomas, Shelly Corkery, reckons he will widen the appeal of Dior while keeping its DNA. 'He has a good commercial eye, is a visionary and, like Prada, pushes boundaries. There is always novelty in his collections. With his Loewe logo denim, little vests and T-shirts that young people could afford, he widened its demographic. He will modernise Dior. He will have more fun with the brand and widen the ready to wear so that a younger customer can buy into it.' A gifted communicator, with the voice of a trained actor (which he is) Anderson is a storyteller, loquacious, always adept at articulating his ideas. He spoke frankly and thoughtfully to Bella Freud in a recent interview about his background and his approach to fashion, and he described how his mother narrowly escaped the Omagh bombing in 1998. Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz attend the Loewe 2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week. Photograph:'Growing up, the North of Ireland was a complex place to live and it's important for me that I did grow up there and it helps me understand what I am today. The great thing about Ireland is storytelling and young people are curious, want to know you and that you believe in what you are selling, so you have to prove that you are not selling a sterile dream – otherwise it gets very corporate,' he said. Christian Dior himself was famously superstitious, believing in signs and symbols. Predicting the future is what great fashion designers do. Willie Anderson in his autobiography, Crossing the Line, tells a story of how a younger Jonathan, given the intense pressure around one of his early shows, decided holy water might give it a boost. 'There wasn't a lot of that around the house, but [Catholic] friends rode to the rescue delivering enough to float a small pleasure cruiser. Heather was on hand when the models were getting dressed. 'Jonny, will I sprinkle a bit on each model or how do you want to do this?' she asked. 'It's already sorted Mum,' he replied, 'It's in the steam irons so we can spread it!''
