L.A. STORY: Jonathan Anderson will show his first cruise collection for Dior in Los Angeles on May 13.
The venue will be revealed at a later date, the French luxury house said in a brief statement shared exclusively with WWD. The news comes on the heels of Dior opening a flagship on Rodeo Drive designed by American architect Peter Marino.
It closely follows the announcement that Nicolas Ghesquière will unveil his cruise 2027 line for Louis Vuitton on May 20 in New York City, signaling that luxury players are courting U.S. customers as they gradually emerge from a two-year slump in sales.
Despite the impact of the government shutdown and weakening consumer confidence, spending in the U.S. has been supported by the repatriation of tourist spending due to the weak dollar, among other factors.
“The U.S. consumer remains relatively healthy overall,” Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet said in a research note earlier this month. He noted that despite a decline in credit card spending on luxury goods in October, the sector was supported by steady wage growth, strong savings, stock market gains and potential benefits from tax cuts.
Dior has a longstanding love affair with Hollywood, dressing many leading ladies on- and off-screen. Its brand ambassadors Jennifer Lawrence and Mikey Madison both wore Dior to accept their Oscar for Best Actress, as did Michelle Yeoh.
Anderson’s predecessor as creative director of womenswear, Maria Grazia Chiuri, showed her first cruise collection in Calabasas, north of Los Angeles, in 2017. The display took place in the mountains, with two hot-air balloons bearing the name of its men’s fragrance Sauvage as a backdrop.
Meanwhile, Kim Jones, who was Dior’s menswear designer before Anderson, staged a show in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles to showcase his resort 2023 line co-created with local designer Eli Russell Linnetz.
