Derry-born designer Jonathan Anderson announced today that the Dior Fall/Winter 2027 runway show will take place in Trinity College Dublin.
Mr Anderson, who is the Creative Director for the storied French fashion house, revealed that the show will take place on 4 December in the college’s Old Library. It will be the house’s first ever runway show in Ireland.
Posting on Instagram, he wrote that he was “so excited and so proud” to reveal the news.
His post featured an elegant illustration of a four-leaf clover and a ladybird, two motifs Mr Anderson has woven into his collections since taking up the helm.
Mr Anderson also included in the announcement a quote from Carmel Snow, the Dalkey-born editor-in-chief of the American edition of Harper’s Bazaar from 1934 to 1958, who was also once the fashion editor for American Vogue.
Born Carmel White, she was known for retaining her Dalkey accent despite spending years living and working in the US.
Her criticism and enthusiasm for fashion played a key role in Dior’s heritage as, after Dior presented his 1947 collection that featured the now-iconic Bar Suit, she said: “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian. Your dresses have such a new look.”
This era of Dior’s design became known as “the new look” after Snow’s observation, and Mr Anderson included this quote in his Instagram announcement.
Fashion historian Laura Fitzachary says this style was a “softer, rounder, post-liberation silhouette that was coming out, and it really all fed off what Chanel was doing to Paul Poiret”.
“All the elements of a nipped waist and a much more pronounced feminine ideal” after the late 30s and early 40s were present in this new look, she adds.
She notes, however, that this “new look” wasn’t new at all, as figures like Main Boucher had created similar designs before Dior.
Speaking about Snow’s legacy, Fitzachary noted how she “never really forgot her links to Ireland and the fact that she was Irish”, which parallels nicely with Mr Anderson, who has maintained a strong connection to home and Irish heritage throughout his career.
