How comfortable are we with change? As familiarity is a form of knowing, it also means having control and the ability to play oracle, predicting what comes next. In fashion, many of us claim to embrace change — but more often than not, our locus of acceptance is only as wide as what we are familiar with. Albeit familiar Jonathan Anderson’s longstanding approach of referencing art and history throughout his work, his Dior Winter 26 men’s collection conjured an immediate sense of unsettledness.
As we progressed from Kim Jones’ streetwear-clad emperors to Anderson’s first season of the whimsical prepster, the procession of svelte figures rocking highlighter yellow shag cuts and bluntly chopped bedheads in this collection was an undeniable act of protest. It challenges the audience to forgo the question of “what makes this Dior?” and instead embrace “how does Dior play a role in delivering this message?”
Introduced as the persona of this collection, the “aristo-youth” is an astute depiction of Dior’s current state. Youthful in its current era, yet bearing the emotional weight and legacy passed down through generations. Swaddled in shimmering jewel tones, body-skimming silhouettes, and fanciful brocade capes, opulence is presented in a devil-may-care attitude. Some critics have been quick to label the collection as ragebait, but is that not what all teenagers do? In a spectacle of sixtysomething looks, what is reactionary is not the lack of substance, but the subversive reinterpretation of Dior that feels foreign at first.
In a time when polish has become a byproduct of hyperconsumerism, collision — seen in high-contrast ensembles of cocoon coats and loud, luminous trousers, shrunken bar jackets and even slimmer pants — reigns supreme over cohesion. It is the only way to suspend our attention spans a little longer, inviting us to form our own original thoughts. A popular meme format that goes “men used to go to war, but now…” finds itself within this collection, as duffle coats, field jackets and epaulettes that were rooted in military dressing now exist within the realm of men who drink matcha and lowball on Vestiaire. Femme or masc; old or new — do these affiliations really matter when change is championed through self-assuredness?
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