Possibly the only regret we have here at ACHTUNG about Jonathan Anderson’s move from Loewe to Dior is that there is no longer the post-show press talk he used to give where he carefully and articulately explained his abstract approach to a collection and what influenced him. At Dior there is no time for that as he has a giant backstage which is set up as a kind of photo studio and he greets, talks and poses with the entire Arnault family, celebs like Lewis Hamilton or Robert Pattinson and the long list goes on. Beforehand, Anderson showed a killer Dior F/W 2026 collection full of creativity, audacity and an irresistible groove that made the models soar through the tent at Musée Rodin with their yellow bleached hair and skin baring classic tailoring. Let’s call it a tailored fashion rave. The opening set the tone of clothes for long nights on Ibiza or wherever there is good nightlife as the skinny jeans and multi-colored sequins camisoles deftly mixed the men’s and women’s closet to novel effect. Just like he did for his first women’s show, where he paid homage to his predecessors like Gianfranco Ferré, this time he had Hedi Slimane and his penchant for musical genre archetypes on his mind. Good fashion is always about an amalgamation of research, fantasy, concept and creativity and Anderson clearly made up his mind that his Dior needs to be unexpected but instantly desirable like his simple polo-shirts adorned with silver epaulettes or his skinny jeans (Hello Hedi) with a subtle logo belt and snakeskin boots. You can stretch a brand as far as you dare and that seems to be Anderson’s comfort zone. There were whiffs of electroclash, punk and other youth tribes but his chopped off version of Dior’s holy bar jacket with bleached denim shorts and skirts is expanding the house codes tremendously.