In a corner of Paris’ Jardin des Tuileries you will discover the Musée de l'Orangerie, home to one of Monet’s most famous works, Water Lilies. The painting consists of eight panels that are each two metres long, filling two rooms – designed specifically to submerge the viewer in water lilies. Today (March 3), Jonathan Anderson added a few extra water lilies to the Tuileries’ vast collection, submerging us in a pond of his own, just like Monet did a hundred years ago. 

His AW26 womenswear offering marks Anderson’s fifth show and seventh collection for the brand, even though it’s been less than a year since he was announced as Dior’s new creative director. As one of fashion’s busiest designers – overseeing womenswear, menswear and couture – it’s hard to imagine that he gets any free time to amble around Paris’ parks, and yet, that’s exactly what today’s collection was all about. For example… 

GUESTS WERE INVITED TO ANDERSON’S PAD 

The entire show was based around the French capital’s most famous gardens, the Tuileries, where the Dior team had spent days erecting a giant lily pad for guests to sit on (like frogs). Among them this season were the likes of Alexa Chung, Anya Taylor-Joy, British actor Robert Aramayo and Stray Kids singer Hyunjin. 

For those of us watching online, this season skipped most of the usual hullabaloo of guests arriving. Instead, we were shown a brief conversation between Bella Freud and Jonathan Anderson. Filmed in the park three days prior to the show, Freud interviews the designer about the collection, while the set is being built behind them (see here). 

Constructed around one of the Tuileries’ fountains, the green walls framed the body of water, which was decorated with water lilies. “They hover on the surface of water and when they flower, it’s quite miraculous,” Anderson told Freud ahead of the show. “You can see why Monet was so obsessed. They distort reflection within water, because they create this idea of solidity in it.” 

WELCOME TO DIOR’S PLEASURE GARDEN

“I’ll always feel like a tourist in Paris,” Anderson continued in the show’s preamble, explaining his love for the green chairs found exclusively in the city’s parks. “Historically, Dior has always shown here. I always think of Pleasure Gardens, or even in Britain you have this idea of the promenade,” he explains. In the 18th century, promenading was a social activity for the upper classes, providing an opportunity to flaunt status, wealth and the latest fashions. Today, young people still promenade – whether they’re in the Marais, Brooklyn or Hackney – but according to Anderson, it’s now “more about psychology than status. It used to be that you would dress up for status purposes, now it’s more about the psychology, or what group you’re part of.” 

PRINCESS TIANA WOULD LOVE THIS COLLECTION 

If they ever make a live-action version of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, this collection should be the costume designer’s first point of call. The clothes reflected the water lilies theme, blending Monet with Dior classics like the bar jacket and the Junon dress. The first three looks all featured tiered tutus, each with a train of its own and paired with a peplum button-up. A modern take on Christian Dior’s New Look, peplum silhouettes have been a mainstay of Anderson’s Dior since his debut show, and this collection included more of it than ever before. Dramatic oversized ruffles mimicked flower petals, while two chiffon evening dresses – one in blush pink, the other in white – resembled the heads of lilies waiting to bloom. Occasionally, additional layered fabric was added around the hips and in the back, giving an almost froggy shape – especially when paired with shades of mossy green. The shoes were a particular highlight, namely the pair of bright green stilettos that featured a water lily and its pad.