Jonathan Anderson takes the wheel, revving up Dior’s cruise 2027 show in LA

There’s a scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s famous 1950 film Stage Fright where high society actress Charlotte (played by the legendary Marlene Dietrich) looks an aspiring young actress named Eve (played by Jane Wyman) up and down.

“Darling, whatever happened to that peculiar figure of yours?” Charlotte asks, her tone haughty and cold.

“It’s a new dress, Madame,” Eve responds.

“Keep it, dear. What it does for you is worth thousands.”

It wouldn’t be remiss to think this line was improvised by Dietrich. The actress knew the power of a good dress, so much so she famously told Hitchcock she wouldn’t star in his movie if she couldn’t wear Dior, a decision he initially baulked at given the cost of the designer wares. “No Dior, no Dietrich,” she told him.

Hitchcock caved. In the scene above, the heroine is resplendent in a Dior gown. Off-the-shoulder, cinched in with a belt at the waist, and with rosettes cascading from her hip, Dietrich personified the glamorous seductress she was born to play. Seventy-six years later, Dior’s creative director, Jonathon Anderson, has used this exact exchange—and a jacket from the House’s Haute Couture Spring/Summer 1949 collection, also worn by Dietrich in the film—as one of the starting points for his debut Cruise collection.

“The House has a longstanding relationship with cinema,” says Anderson, citing Mr. Dior’s work on films Terminal Station, Les Enfants Terribles, and Stage Fright in the 1950s. “Christian Dior understood how important the idea of ‘the dream’ was for people after the war—as a form of escapism. He explored this in couture, his Surrealist friends were obsessed with dreams, and of course, Hollywood is the ‘The Dream Factory.’”

And so, the newly reopened Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) was transformed into a movie stage for the Dior Cruise 2027 show on May 13. Soundtracked to Air’s “Sexy Boy”, and lit by the headlights of vintage convertibles and old street lamps, Anderson transported guests to his own cinematic take on the kaleidoscope of creative characters that make LA what it is: the beautifully chaotic intersection of old Hollywood glamour (think: Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren, and Elizabeth Taylor) and the after-hours happenings of downtown. Even the show notes were presented to press in script-form.

The Californian poppy was another reference with florals a recurring refrain throughout the show. The first look, a sheer, high-necked, drop-waisted canary yellow gown boasted rosettes at the hip. (Sabrina Carpenter was pure sunshine sitting front row in this very number.) A few looks later, a lemon-hued slip dress covered in vivid orange and golden-yellow poppies cemented the geographic origins of the collection. After, a black sequinned gown with silk organza blooms painted on it using an artisanal nineteenth-century technique appeared, with the florals positioned in a similar fashion to Dietrich’s in the scene above. The floral motif continued across boas, brooches and footwear. Anderson has worked with Dior’s design director of shoes, Nina Christen, since his Loewe days, but—and to use another car analogy—the pair put pedal to the floor for Cruise 2027 with a pair of transparent square-toe heels with a white-trimmed floral design at the toe. Perfection.

Credit: Getty Images

Elsewhere, the bar jacket had many updates. Reworked with frayed, fringed hems and styled with distressed denim, it was a younger take on the traditional suited up aesthetic. Another iteration saw the jacket long and sheer. Interestingly, too, the new Saddle bags were directly inspired by the vintage American cars with car paint surfaces and motor key charms.

Credit: Getty Images

Mid-show, Anderson ventured into menswear, an ode to the LA man, with all looks featuring bespoke headwear from Phillip Treacy. “Working with Jonathan Anderson on these pieces felt like revisiting a part of my own history, reworking a technique created for Isabella Blow’s ‘BLOW’ hat into something new for 2026,” says Treacy. “The feathers form lettering and typography with exacting precision, yet remain weightless and alive.”

Towards the end of the show, and just like Mr. Dior always did, Anderson added a singular red gown with a giant flower at its hip. “Christian Dior always put a red dress partway through his collections—simply to wake people up—a device I thought I’d experiment with,” says Anderson.

Credit: Getty Images

Star guests included Carpenter, Miley Cyrus, Greta Lee, Grace Gummer, Sophie Wilde, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mikey Madison, Maude Apatow, and Jisoo to name a few.

As Airs “Kelly Watch The Stars” played out, Anderson emerged from a narrow fogged-filled runway and waved to the crowd. Lit only by the headlights of the Cadillac behind him, it was the perfect ending scene to Marlene Dietrich’s dream script.