The “what is Jonathan Anderson doing?” story has been going on for long enough in fashion to basically have become a trend. The rumors about him leaving Loewe to take over some other brand have been circulating since the summer, which probably means they have greater longevity than liquid leggings but not quite that of peplums.
First, the story was that he met with ex-Gucci designer Alessandro Michele — maybe that meant something, the way people think shoes mean something. Then, it was that he was maybe going to Dior. That one has stuck. I feel like I’ve heard about him going to Dior almost as much as I heard about the Barbie movie. Yet it’s February — and still no announcement. Meanwhile, Anderson has disappeared into the sunset, quite literally — his last Instagram on December 11 was what appeared to be his shadow on a beach, the sun setting in the distance. His JW Anderson show is not on the London Fashion Week calendar. There was no JW Anderson men’s show at Milan Fashion Week.
He launched penis charms with Harry Styles just before the holidays and then — poof — bye.
So we don’t know what he’s doing, which beach he’s on, if he’s practicing some kind of work-oriented dry January, where he swears off work instead of booze, and then returns to take a bow on the Loewe runway like a phoenix emerging from within the petals of a mesmerizing fake anthurium bloom that could be part of a tablescape at Art Basel. But we do know some facts:
The internet has really turned on Dior Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri. I know a lot of Back Row readers like her clothes. I know a lot of Dior customers like her clothes. But the runway collections that get shoved into slideshows and reels with little talking faces over them just aren’t getting fashion followers excited about the brand. She doesn’t do herself many favors by insisting on the same palette of black, white, and beige, or grafitti-ing MISS DIOR on a white shirt that costs $2,400 (?!).
Finance people have also turned on her. In a report on Dior parent company LVMH, HSBC said Dior’s women’s business was “under pressure,” adding, “Based on our seven-year rule, it could be time for the brand to shift [womenswear] designers.” Dior’s earnings exploded under Chiuri between 2018 and 2023, in line with the rest of the luxury industry, but are slowing down now.
These analysts are also not always reliable narrators. That report came out nearly a month ago, before Kim Jones left Dior men’s, and stated that his stuff was “doing well still.” Yet — look at that! — he’s now out. Maybe it was the seven-year rule.
Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have stepped down from their line.
The scuttlebutt is that McCollough and Hernandez will replace Anderson at Loewe, and that the announcement is coming soon. But we still don’t know for sure what Anderson is doing. Maybe he will end up designing Dior men’s and women’s (he reportedly wants to do both wherever he works). But is he right for Dior?
Dior’s “codes” are super-feminine — tight waists, full skirts, bows, florals. (I somehow don’t think the $920 “We Should All Be Feminists” T-shirt will join the great canon of house codes.) Jonathan Anderson is known for gender-fluid designs, sculptural silhouettes, deconstructed garments. His most famous pieces include a pigeon purse (under JW Anderson) and tomato clutch (under Loewe). He gave Loewe the Puzzle bag (which Back Row readers love; the mini Puzzle tote is rather adorable) and that highly memorable anthurium collection. His work feels at once modern and quirky and elegant. When he decided to do hoop skirts, they looked new and fresh instead of like they were 3D printed off a dress in a museum archive. But is that what customers want from Dior? Is that what Bernard Arnault wants from Dior? Remember when Raf Simons worked there?
Say you were Arnault and needed to find a way to keep Anderson, your most acclaimed and adored designer, happy with an appointment that included oversight of men’s and women’s collections that were bigger than Loewe. Say you also employed at one of your labels a globally recognized pop star who probably doesn’t want to creative direct a men’s line for much longer because, well, he can do anything he wants. Say the women’s line is overseen by a critically lauded designer who everyone seems to forget has been in the job since 2013. Say you read HSBC reports and realize that designer is wayyyy past the bankers’ seven-year rule. And say you’ve recently noticed that that brand’s buzziest venture of late was relaunching a Takashi Murakami collaboration originally architected by that other quirky, art-oriented designer, Marc Jacobs. And say that Emma Stone’s tangerine BAFTA gown with the brocade testicle on the shoulder has been stuck in your craw for the last year. Well, then, maybe you would give Jonathan Anderson Louis Vuitton!
That might be a more natural fit. Pharrell has given the men’s line great buzz, as silly as some of the products are (I’m looking at you, $18,000 lobster bag). But people are clearly nostalgic for the highly influential Marc Jacobs era, which gave us the Stephen Sprouse graffiti print, trash bag purses that looked more purse than trash bag, and partnerships with OG creators like Miss Piggy. If anyone can reprise that playfulness, it’s Anderson, a man who loves art, sells penis keychains, and sees a tweet about a tomato the internet decides is “so Loewe” and decides to make it into a clutch.
All I can say is that if the Proenza designers are indeed going to Loewe, they have a really intimidating task in replacing Anderson. I don’t see them giving us balloon shoes 2.0, but who knows?
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk. If you’re into collecting fashion, the Anderson/Loewe stuff is probably going to take on the status of Tom Ford for Gucci, so shop now.
I went back into the luxury shopping survey results from late last year to see what you are buying from Loewe, the fourth most-purchased brand among respondents. Here are some of your favorite Loewe items:
Puzzle bag. (Also available in mini and large.)
Flamenco bag. (I have this in black in the large size for utility reasons, but I enjoy the clutch with the decorative chain; you can also get a large with the fun chain.)
Loewe x Paula’s Ibiza raffia crossbody tote. (It also comes in an attractive darker shade of brown and large size.)
Hammock woven leather bag. (Also comes in a small size.)
Earlier in Back Row:
