Jonathan Anderson’s Dior headlined Coachella Is «Pretty Girl Avenue» 30 Av. Montaigne?

The arrival of Jonathan Anderson as creative director of Dior, less than a year ago, had already suggested that the Maison’s direction was set to undergo significant changes. But who could have expected that, for her first headlining show at Coachella, Sabrina Carpenter would wear exclusively Custom Dior by Jonathan Anderson? Five looks, along with a couple of variations in accessories and outerwear that disappeared throughout the progression of Sabrinawood (the name of the show), all of which undoubtedly «leave quite an impression». The pop star wasn’t the only one wearing Dior at the festival: Ethel Cain also performed at the Mojave Tent in a full look by the Parisian brand, consisting of distressed overalls and a pair of combat boots, which she herself commented on in a video shared on the Maison’s official channels: «who else gets to perform in Dior overalls?».

Sabrina Carpenter’s Coachella looks

If the operation works, it is also because Sabrina Carpenter’s Coachella looks manage to strike a perfect balance between the recognizability of the pop star’s identity and Dior’s recalibration through the designer’s lens. The wardrobe built by Jonathan Anderson starts from an extremely legible imagery – the ruby-red minidress with a V-neckline and low-slung belt that opens the show, the champagne micro dress draped at the hips, all the way to lingerie sets with showgirl references and a black lace bodysuit, distinctly Old Hollywood, paired with a theatrical cape – but pushes it into an almost uncanny dimension, to the point that online, in the hours following the performance, many wondered which brand that first red dress actually belonged to. Once the mystery was revealed, a campaign around the mini capsule seemed to emerge almost organically, with several users pointing out subtle similarities between the lace used for Sabrina’s final look and that of the Dior SS26 season.

This isn’t the first time an A-list pop star has worn custom Dior pieces on stage: for Blackpink’s Deadline Tour, Jonathan Anderson had already offered a first glimpse of his womenswear line through three exclusive looks for Jisoo, a member of the group and a brand ambassador for seven years. The very first look, worn during the tour’s second stop in Los Angeles, echoed several elements later seen in Anderson’s debut collection, including the use of structured bows, also featured in the show’s opening look, and heavy satin, the same fabric used for the SS26 hero dress. For the two Paris concerts, the Maison instead chose to offer a preview of Couture 2026, with two looks (one black and one pink, as a nod to the band’s name) defined by the same draping that Anderson later brought to the runway in January.

Jonathan Anderson’s strategy to make Dior pop

If there is one thing this first year makes clear, it is that Jonathan Anderson is not simply trying to refresh Dior, but to reposition it within a much broader cultural imaginary, where fashion stops being “high” and returns to being a pop language. The difference, compared to similar operations seen in recent years, is that in his case there is never a sense of artificiality or a forced attempt to chase Gen Z trends, but rather a narrative continuity that unfolds organically. It is, after all, the same method he had already applied at Loewe, where the dialogue was built primarily through cinema, from collaborations with Studio Ghibli to the viral success of the t-shirt «I TOLD YA» from Challengers (not to mention the brand’s TikTok account).

With Dior, however, the focus is clearly shifting towards music, without limiting itself to mainstream pop. The fact that, within just a few months, he has dressed some of the most relevant pop stars of the moment, while also working with figures such as Ethel Cain or Guitarricadelafuente, the brand’s new ambassador, points to a much more layered strategy, one that builds through cultural stratification rather than targeting. And above all, it suggests that Anderson, rather than starting from scratch, has already started from the finish line, moving seamlessly between K-pop stages and the Coachella Main Stage. Perhaps a new form of patronage, where it is no longer the stars supporting the designer, but the other way around?