The Business of Fashion Podcast
Episode: Jonathan Anderson on Reframing Couture at Dior
Date: January 26, 2026
Host: Imran Amed (BoF Founder & CEO)
Guest: Jonathan Anderson (Creative Director, Dior)

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between Imran Amed and Jonathan Anderson, marking Anderson’s much-anticipated haute couture debut at Dior. Recorded as Anderson was completing his first couture collection, the discussion explores his evolving perspective on the purpose of couture, its role within Dior, the value of endangered craft, the emotional reality of creative leadership in a mega-brand, and the innovations he’s bringing to Dior’s couture universe. The episode also delves into the challenges of merging tradition with experimentation, client relationships, and opening up the couture process to wider audiences.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reimagining Couture’s Purpose at Dior

• Initial Skepticism, New Appreciation

  • Anderson admits he once saw couture as irrelevant and inaccessible, saying,
    “If someone had asked me about a year and a half ago about couture... I probably would have said something like, well, I think it's irrelevant or something. I never understood the glamour behind it.” (03:04)
  • His hands-on experience transformed his understanding:
    “I feel like I'm doing... a PhD in couture because I have an amazing atelier, and every day you are learning.” (03:25)

• Couture as an Endangered Craft

  • Anderson reframes couture as a "protected" national craft, likening Dior’s role to safeguarding a cultural heritage:
    “Couture is kind of like an endangered craft... What Dior is doing... is protecting this endangered craft as a kind of national symbol, ultimately, of making.” (05:09)

• Emotional, Performative Process

  • The process is described as emotional and at times overwhelming, combining legacy, skill, and self-doubt:
    “You have to go into kind of... performative mode that, yes, I can do this. And at the same time, being like, I'm totally confused.” (04:32)

2. Starting Points and Inspiration

• Magdalene Odundo & Silhouette
  • Anderson’s creative spark came from artist Magdalene Odundo’s vessels:
    “I was thinking that [her vessels] is what Dior is so great at... I have this one vase... for me was always like a body... what is a dress that is a vase that ultimately is Naomi Campbell?” (06:27)
  • This led him to experiment with sketching and hand-pleated fabrics:
    “I don't really sketch, but it was the first time I sketched something... very badly... and we put a bow on it. That was about a month and a half into the job.” (07:10)

3. Couture vs. Ready-to-Wear (RTW)

• Materials & Methods

  • Anderson explains the technical differences:
    “Inside the one in couture, you have these tiny lines of tulle... they build this very, very light structure which holds the shape... the readywear was more done by industrial process... in couture, everything is pleated by hand.” (07:53)
  • The necessity of handwork as preservation:
    “It needs to exist because they are practicing a skill that if we don’t practice would disappear... people forget in couture everything is done by hand.” (08:49)

• Specialization in the Atelier

  • The atelier is highly specialized, almost like a self-contained city:
    “Like the she shop and the butcher. That's their little area, so they stay in their own... It's very like, they take on a look and they look after this look through the entire process. There is no cross pollination.” (09:37)

4. Risks, Challenges & Freedom at Dior

• Creative Freedom

  • Anderson is surprised by the “no limits” creative environment:
    “They're able to do anything. For me, it’s nearly like cars... here is an archetype for a brand new car and it may never be able to go on the road, but we are going to make it happen.” (12:48)
  • Couture offers rare unrestricted creativity compared to most fashion business units:
    “It’s the one part of the business where there is no no, because it's just about sheer creativity and making.” (13:26)

• Changing the Couture Calendar

  • Anderson reinstates a longer cycle, emphasizing depth over speed:
    “I was like, I cannot do a couture show in 30 days. It's just impossible. So I was like, let's change it into like a six month cycle.” (13:32)

• A Laboratory for House-Wide Innovation

  • Couture as an engine for experimentation benefiting all Dior lines:
    “We can run it over six months... and what we're testing, like weird and wonderful things... we might learn something through that... and use that into men's... this becomes the backbone of the brand.” (16:10)

5. Connecting the Archive, Innovation & Brand DNA

• The Role of Fantasy and Codes
  • Anderson reflects on Dior’s legacy of fantasy and innovation:
    “Why do people come to Dior for fantasy? Ultimately it was birthed out of the idea of fantasy... people want something romantic, a bit over the top. It’s fashion.” (14:15)
  • Adapting to expectations while building his own library within Dior:
    “Here I'm coming in on like everyone has like a vision of Dior... I want to get them so they're long term things.” (18:42)

6. Navigating Creative Vision vs. Brand & Audience Demands

• Balancing Tradition, Audience & Instinct
  • Anderson experiences tension between archive, business needs, and personal creativity:
    “As a designer, I will build a vibe or kind of culture around a brand, but then everything will be different... the energy of each show has to be a different energy.” (19:07)
  • Emphasizes the necessity of planning and structure in a large fashion house:
    “You have to... remind yourself that you have to take the journey that is right for the brand... because that is the real part. That's the realism, the stuff that no one wants to know about, but ultimately if you don't, it will bite you.” (20:35)

7. Expanding the Couture Universe

• Accessories & Artistry

  • Anderson applies the couture principle to bags, jewelry, and shoes:
    “How do we do bags of couture? How do we do jewelry and couture?... in jewelry, I wanted to look at this idea of like using technology and looking at powder coating... using found objects or precious things. We have meteorites found in Argentina, mounted onto carbonized silver...” (22:32, 24:37)
  • Every couture accessory comes with provenance:
    “When you buy the bag you get the history of that piece of fabric, what mill it was made in, if it was made in Lille, if it was made in like a certain type of loom. Each bag comes with... a list of components, the history of that textile.” (25:59)
  • Focus on radical shoe design:
    “I wanted complete new, lasts from scratch... like meticulously spend six months until we get that incredible curved heel that we saw.” (26:49)

• New Access to Couture

  • Clients can now enter the couture world at different levels:
    “There’s a way then that you can enter couture on different levels... some people don’t want an entire dress. Some people want an object that means... what would I as a guy want from it?” (27:24)

8. Engagement with Clients & Opening Up the Process

• Direct Client Feedback and Inclusivity

  • Anderson meets couture clients globally to understand their desires:
    “I met some of the biggest clients I have... in China... in America... also working out who else do I want to attract...” (30:58)
  • Recognizes different types of couture clients—those buying for occasions, collectors, and newcomers.

• Archival Reproductions

  • Dior’s atelier can remake historical dresses for clients from any previous show—a source of inspiration and reality check:
    “You can order a dress from a show, could be 20 years ago, 30 years ago, and we will make it for you still to this day.” (31:19)

• The Three-Part Experience for Couture Collections

  • 1. The Show: Focused and intimate, a 15-minute moment for select guests.
    • “For me, the show is the silhouette, the idea, the fallacy, the dream. Here it is in a 15 minute Bam.” (33:02)
  • 2. Client Presentation at Villa Dior:
    • “Straight after the show, I go to the Villa Dior... it’s been redone more like a home setting... laid out like an exhibition... clients can meet the team, be introduced to each product, and learn the stories behind them.” (33:55)
  • 3. Public Exhibition & Education:
    • “The show venue will then turn... into an exhibition... with school groups, art students, general public. Anyone can go. It will be free.” (35:11)
    • On why this matters:
      “If you saw a dress that has taken more than 4,000 hours... a photograph is never gonna tell you that... you have to see it.” (35:20)

9. Reflections on Fashion’s Consumption and Systemic Pressures

• Desire to Slow Down and Deepen Experience

  • Critiques the “flashpoint” nature of modern fashion consumption: “We're so used to fashion right now as we do shows, consume it and that's it. And some people only consume that flat image.” (38:06)
  • Recalls the pleasure in anticipation, discovery, and in-store experience (Prada windows anecdote):
    “You create something, people take time, they distill it... it goes in store, and then you discover it again.” (39:33)

• Pressure and Humanity Behind Fashion

  • Acknowledges the human toll of public scrutiny and design pressure:
    “The audience see me as a designer... but the reality of fashion today... the size of it, it's not 10 years ago. Fashion has grown like crazy... audience is nearly kind of like... Hollywood, we don't care. We just want the end product... but we have to be more rational.” (41:47, 42:16)

  • On emotional release post-show:
    “It was that... release... because in the end... there is a moment where when you are finished, it is that kind of like nearly handing in an exam. You're like, well, you're a human.” (44:06)

10. Environmental Responsibility and Collaboration

• Reusing Materials & Sustainability

  • Anderson’s approach to set and production resources: “Most the shows that we do... all that gets reused into the windows and... the ceiling for couture will then go to Venice for fine jewelry... four shows out of one chair.” (47:24, 48:11)

• Building the Next Generation

  • Emphasis on providing opportunity to young talent:
    “The younger the talent, the more opportunity, the more that younger talent can learn inside a brand like I did, then the better this industry will become.” (49:11)

11. Full Circle Moments and Personal Touch

• Meeting John Galliano
  • Galliano attends Anderson’s first Dior collection preview, bringing cyclamen flowers (and snacks for the team):
    “He came with these two bunches of cyclamen, wild cyclamen... with black ribbon... sweets and crisps and Doritos and things like that for the team. We had this great chat and it was just... a very kind of calming process.” (53:25, 53:48)
  • Galliano’s advice:
    “The more that you love Dior, the brand, the more it will give you back.” (56:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On first encountering couture:
  “I have an amazing atelier, and it's every day you are learning the process of something that has been done for so long in France... I felt like I was doing a PhD in couture.” — Jonathan Anderson (03:25)

• On why couture must persist:
  “It needs to exist because they are practicing a skill that if we don't, would disappear.” — Jonathan Anderson (08:49)

• On creative empowerment:
  “It's the one part of the business where there is no no, because it's just about sheer creativity and making.” — Jonathan Anderson (13:26)

• On the tension between brand legacy and innovation:
  “I'm trying to grab onto this running buffalo. Like, I'm trying to grab onto it and stay on it... it's incredibly intimidating.” — Jonathan Anderson (11:21)

• On integrating the clients and public into couture:
  “After the show... I go to the Villa Dior... it’s more laid out like a kind of exhibition... and then the show venue will turn into an exhibition, which will be for school groups, art students, general public... free.” — Jonathan Anderson (33:02, 35:11)

• On receiving Galliano’s advice:
  “The more that you love Dior, the brand, the more it will give you back.” — John Galliano (recalled by Jonathan Anderson) (56:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:45 – Imran Amed introduces the episode and context
• 02:43 – Anderson shares initial views on couture and his change in perspective
• 05:09 – Reflection on couture’s role as endangered craft and national heritage
• 06:17 – Discussing first creative inspiration from Magdalene Odundo
• 07:53 – Technical distinctions: couture vs. RTW
• 09:37 – Anderson describes the specialized world of the Dior atelier
• 12:48 – Experimentation and creative freedom in couture
• 14:15 – The role of fantasy in Dior’s DNA
• 16:10 – Couture as a creative laboratory
• 22:32 – Expanding the couture world: accessories, jewelry, shoes
• 30:58 – Meeting couture clients and learning from them
• 33:02 – The three-part experience: show, client presentation, public exhibition
• 35:20 – Importance of showing the physical reality of couture
• 39:33 – On the changing pace of fashion consumption and the need for depth
• 44:06 – Emotional reality and pressures of presenting a couture collection
• 47:24 – Sustainability and reusing show resources
• 53:25 – Full circle with John Galliano at the atelier
• 56:35 – Galliano’s advice: loving the brand gives back
• 58:08 – Wrapping up with reflections on accessibility and legacy

Conclusion

Jonathan Anderson’s conversation with Imran Amed offers a candid, nuanced look at reframing couture for the modern era at Dior. Anderson brings humility, reverence for the past, and a spirit of experimentation to re-energize the house—seeking not only to maintain, but to widen and democratize couture’s appeal. He acknowledges the emotional weight and pressure of the job, the complexity of leading in the fashion system, and his commitment to opening up the process both for clients and the broader public, all while protecting the precious crafts at couture’s core.

For listeners interested in both the artistry and business of fashion, this episode is an intimate masterclass on the realities and possibilities of couture today.