Jonathan Anderson's Knot for Dior Haute Couture SS27 Among ferns and sculptures, the Dior woman lightens up without letting go of materiality

Two were the teaser images published by Jonathan Anderson in anticipation of the Dior Haute Couture SS27 show, which has just taken place in Paris: a forest of ferns and artist and sculptor Lynda Benglis portrayed at work, followed by a video clip in which she speaks about the intersection between understanding the world, the union of different materials, and personality. And Benglis's works — swollen, metallic, intensely tactile and chromatic, expanded like natural concretions — had certainly inspired the research into volumes and the aesthetic of several looks in this collection, in which Anderson has refined and focused his vision for Dior Haute Couture.

And perhaps it is precisely this effort to understand, to enter into the spirit of the Maison — a process that goes hand in hand with the systematic, unified work across the brand's collections — that gave rise to the show's visual theme from the very first look: the knot. A decorative motif, but also a problem to be untied. Beginning with the large wool shawl knotted at the front that opened the show, the front-knotted garment became both a decorative and a structural element of a collection that, compared to the past, has nonetheless shed some of the more pronounced conceptualism of the very first Couture show. A more elongated silhouette, more focused looks that had to coexist with a virtuosic preciousness in the pursuit of materials.

Emerging from the Undergrowth

The succession of looks followed the transition from daywear to eveningwear. The first look played entirely on a balance of textures: the liquid quality of the trousers and shirt, the full and porous weight of the large knotted wool shawl — almost a textile sculpture — and finally the metallic quality of the headpiece. After the second look, featuring another voluminous, knotted wool cape, a sequence of pleated dresses arrived, blending metallic sheens with floral embellishments which, following a shimmering, fringed Bar Jacket, gave way to looks hovering between dress and outerwear, heavily pleated and substantial.

At this point, with all the show's leitmotifs established, an almost baroque series of variations began, built on the themes of the knot, the pleat, metal, and floral aesthetics. Some looks, more form-fitting, were composed of hundreds of tulle petals assembled together; one particularly beautiful ensemble — the twenty-third — was in black and white satin, knotted and asymmetric as well. This ensemble (though there were other examples throughout the show) best demonstrated the aesthetic and constructive vision Anderson holds for the brand, with elegant simplicity.

There were jackets whose lapels became a billowing knot, red pleated cape-dresses like flower bells, iridescent flared skirts, and an incredible, clean trapeze dress whose hems curled into ethereal spirals. Other looks featuring high-waisted balloon skirts crafted from composite materials more closely recalled the art of Lynda Benglis. The bags — all very beautiful, divided between minaudières, trapezoidal bags with fringing, and clutches in pleated faux-metal — were all strikingly strong. The shoes, meanwhile, continued the botanical theme and floral embellishments already explored by Anderson in past collections.

A Conflict of Materials

It has been noted that this show revealed, more clearly than before, a more assertive and sensual feminine silhouette. This is because Anderson's research into materials and construction — which can be decidedly avant-garde and conceptual — continues to draw him toward fabrics and textures that are often very dense and heavy. These textures, combined with the voluminous knots and bows that define the architecture of the garments, tend to overwrite rather than follow the body's natural silhouette. A conflict of weights and textures symbolised by a long Bar Jacket whose body was in a kind of heavy, shaggy wool that, as it descended to the knees, gradually became an impalpable train.

One therefore tends to notice an accumulation of very different textures that appears combined with a layering of embellishments and techniques — especially in looks adorned with substantial knots, or those that are simultaneously decorated with appliqués, open at the back, and then finished with a large fan; or even in those where the upper layers carry a certain weight. And yet the construction and conception of the garments, as well as the work on colour and materials, function best when they allow the body more freedom to breathe and reveal itself. The simpler looks, in fact, perfectly showcased Anderson's sensibility, appearing more direct and elegant.

Dior is a Maison that, since its very inception, has never skimped on volume or materials. This is well known. But it is also a Maison that, even within its often complex and highly articulated volumes, has celebrated the female form through a very sharp and precise silhouette. One could always see the woman beneath the dress, so to speak — whereas here, in certain looks, the human form is entirely concealed, almost submerged beneath exquisite and superbly crafted materials that, however, "wear" the woman rather than being worn by her. For Anderson, a designer of great intellect, the world of Dior might seem like a Gordian knot — so complex that one would do better to cut through it with a single stroke of absolute simplicity.