Dior shows couture three days after dressing Taylor Swift for her wedding

Jonathan Anderson arrived at Dior’s couture show riding the bridal commission of the year: the house dressed Taylor Swift and her husband Travis Kelce for their New York wedding on Friday. Photos of the outfits had not been released by showtime, which only raised the temperature in the room.

The show took place in the gardens of the Rodin Museum as another heatwave hit France, with temperatures topping 30°C and set to rise. Front-row guests — actor Josh O’Connor, model Alexa Chung, director Baz Luhrmann — cooled themselves with the black bamboo fans Dior had sent out with its invitations.

Models emerged onto a black reflective catwalk dotted with large ferns. Several looks were constructed entirely of embroidered silk flowers, continuing Anderson’s theme of nature and gardens.

The season’s major collaboration is with American sculptor Lynda Benglis. Four handbags were created with her, and the pleats that are a trademark of her work carried into silk chiffon blouses, trousers and jackets. Giant blue tulle fans splayed across the front of one dress. Anderson, previously at Loewe, works with artists often — he had already featured Benglis’s sculptures in a 2023 show for the Spanish label.

Dior’s classic Bar jacket was reimagined twice: in fern green tweed with a frayed fringe, and in grey houndstooth wool draped into a large bow. Another jacket was embroidered all over with white silk threads. Coats were fluid and roomy, textured, fringed or carrying dramatic pleats and bows. The grey, white and silver palette was punctuated with vibrant greens and blues.

The Benglis-inspired bags came out giant and sculptural in metallic plissé. Shoes were decorated with floral embellishments or pleated metal bows. The jewellery, according to the show notes, was made by artisans in Jaipur, India.