Dive Brief:
- Jonathan Anderson has been named artistic director of Christian Dior Couture men’s collections, according to a press release Thursday.
- The announcement came shortly after LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said Anderson will design the next Christian Dior men’s show in Paris on June 27.
- Arnault was asked about the creative direction of the brand during the conglomerate’s annual general meeting on Thursday. The artistic director position has been vacant since Kim Jones stepped down from the role in January.
Dive Insight:
Rumors have been swirling that Anderson was eyeing the role at Dior since he left fellow LVMH-owned fashion house Loewe last month. He had been creative director of the label since 2013. LVMH also owns a stake in Anderson’s namesake label JW Anderson.
During his tenure at Loewe, Anderson helped raise the brand’s profile. Loewe was ranked the world’s hottest brand by the Lyst Index and sponsored the 2024 Met Gala, and Anderson was ranked one of Time Magazine’s most influential people last year.
Adding Anderson as artistic director could be beneficial to Dior. Though LVMH doesn’t report financial figures by brand, earlier this week CFO Cécile Cabanis said Dior tends to perform slightly below average.
Dior joins a growing number of LVMH-owned fashion brands under new creative direction. Following Anderson’s exit, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez were named creative directors of Loewe. Givenchy and Celine also named new creative directors within the past year.
LVMH, like other luxury conglomerates, has been experiencing decreased earnings during an overall category slowdown. In Q1, LVMH reported revenue down 2% to 20.3 billion euros, or about $23 billion. That figure included a 4% decline in the fashion and leather goods segment, its largest division.
