For months, the fashion industry has been playing an accelerated game of creative director musical chairs. Today, another chair has been filled — sort of. British designer Jonathan Anderson is reportedly working on the Dior Men Summer 2026 collection, the brand confirmed. He succeeds Kim Jones, who departed from his role as artistic director in January.

Outlets like Vogue, Vogue Business and The Wall Street Journal have reported that Anderson will be Dior Men’s artistic director, but the brand has publicly confirmed only that he will be working on the collection. Early Thursday morning, Anderson posted a photo of a Dior clothing label on his Instagram, further confirming his move to the brand. Last month, Anderson exited Loewe after 11 years at its helm. Anderson continues to helm at his eponymous brand JW Anderson; Proenza Schouler Founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez succeeded Anderson for the top position at the Spanish luxury brand.

Rumors of Anderson taking over at Dior have swirled since last year, first sparked when Paris-based fashion commentator Louis Pisano tweeted a text reading, “JW Anderson is leaving Loewe. Heard it confirmed from jw himself on a call.” A couple of months later, The Cut’s fashion critic Cathy Horyn echoed that speculation in her review of Anderson’s Loewe Spring 2025 collection: She pointed out the “unusually large gathering of fellow designers” and several top LVMH executives in the audience, betting it may be his final show and will take his talents to Dior.

The rumor mill died down when no further info surfaced, that is until early January 2025, when Puck’s Lauren Sherman reported several anonymous sources alleged McCollough and Hernandez signed on to helm Loewe (which later proved to be true), while Anderson would move to Dior.

The British designer joined Loewe in 2013, succeeding Stuart Vevers as creative director. Over the past decade, he’s drastically turned the once sleepy House to one of fashion’s buzziest: The A-list friends of the House (Rihanna, Taylor Russell, Ayo Edebiri, Greta Lee), fun collaborations (On, Paula’s Ibiza, Studio Ghibli, Howl’s Moving Castle) and ingenious designs (pixelated sweatshirts, anthurium-motif bodices, car-shaped hems, tomato bags) received critical praise. Business-wise, the numbers speak for themselves: Loewe regularly competes against Prada and Miu Miu for Lyst’s “hottest brand in the world” and reportedly closed 2023 with a net profit of €207.3 million.

His Dior Men announcement comes amid pressure for the LVMH House to increase sales numbers and “work on new collections that offer a better value proposition,” according to WWD.

Now, all eyes are on Anderson to see what he will bring to the brand. His debut Dior Men show is set for June 27.

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