Dior beat Chanel to the wedding of the decade

In a coup for Christian Dior, both Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wore haute couture by creative director Jonathan Anderson for their New York wedding, handing the label an edge in its intensifying rivalry with Chanel for fashion’s most coveted celebrity endorsements.

No photographs have yet emerged from the tightly controlled Madison Square Garden celebration, but designing Swift’s gown — no doubt the biggest bridal commission of the decade — is a big win for 41-year-old Anderson, just a year into leading the French house and eager to prove himself.

Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy, also new in his role, has reinvigorated his brand and made his haute couture bridal debut with Dua Lipa’s intricately beaded gown for her Sicily wedding in June. But the media attention around Swift’s wedding is far greater, and for Dior, one of LVMH’s flagship brands, it is a chance to revive demand in a sluggish market. Swift’s 273 million Instagram followers and loyal global fanbase give the label visibility few marketing campaigns could match.

“The commission ensures that Dior, and by extension Jonathan Anderson, are commemorated for years to come in the history of pop culture,” said Thomai Serdari, luxury brand strategist and marketing professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Dior said the couple’s wedding looks were created in its ateliers at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris and designed by Anderson in close collaboration with the pair. At Dior’s couture show on Monday, the front row was abuzz with talk of the dress. “When she picked Jonathan I thought, someone was advising her correctly,” said Sheila Hicks, the 91-year-old American textile artist who co-designed a Dior bag with Anderson last year. “It projects that she’s on the ball — that she’s working with the right people.” The dress, she added, “shouldn’t be overwhelming, but it should definitely have a very strong personality.”

Speculation was feverish in the run-up: Stella McCartney, one of the singer’s preferred designers, and Givenchy’s Sarah Burton were widely tipped. Swift wears many high-end labels but rarely attends fashion events and often champions smaller or lesser-known brands — her engagement ring was created by independent jeweller Artifex Fine Jewelry. Known for her all-American style, she wore Ralph Lauren for the engagement shoot, but turned to French couture for the main event.

Anderson, the Northern Irish designer who spent 11 years at the helm of Loewe, has had a busy bridal season: in the past month alone Dior unveiled two other haute couture wedding gowns by him, worn by Chinese model Ming Xi and Brazilian influencer Elisa Zarzur.

Designing bridal gowns for the rich and famous is no guarantee of success, especially with weaker consumer demand. Lauren Sánchez wore a custom Dolce & Gabbana gown for her wedding to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in Venice; the Italian label has been looking for ways to raise money and is renegotiating debt with banks. Valentino, which designed a column dress for Nicola Peltz’s 2022 wedding to Brooklyn Beckham, reported a loss last year and is also renegotiating with creditors.