The normal bloke from Northern Ireland – who became the head of Christian Dior: Fashion house’s latest creative director Jonathan Anderson is the son of a rugby player and school teacher and grew up shopping at TK Maxx

Christian Dior’s latest creative director is from a rugby-loving family from Northern Ireland, failed his 11-plus and spent his childhood indulging in shopping at TK Maxx.

But now Jonathan Anderson, who has rubbed shoulders with the fashion world’s most celebrated figures, will himself be at the helm of a luxury house’s visions.

The designer, 40, hailing from Magherafelt, of County Derry, grew up as the eldest of three, as the son of rugby union legend Willie Anderson, and Heather Buckley, a secondary school teacher.

‘Growing up, I was never very good at rugby – I didn’t really enjoy it. I did a bit of swimming. I never felt a pressure to be sporty or anything like that; our household was never that kind of system,’ he admitted in an interview with The Gloss.

‘Looking back, I think I was probably a very demanding child; probably quite selfish or always wanting something. I probably was too ambitious or maybe it was that I was constantly changing my mind. I did theatre and arts, and I would put on plays with my brother and sister.’

Far from amateur productions with his siblings in the living room, Jonathan would go on to achieve successes with his own high fashion label – JW Anderson – as well as working with A-listers after designing Rihanna‘s Super Bowl ensemble.

He has now taken over from Maria Grazia Chiuri, who joined as Dior’s first female artistic director of women’s haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessories in 2016, and Kim Jones who served as Dior’s artistic director of menswear for seven years.

‘I have always been inspired by the rich history of this House, its depth, and empathy,’ Jonathan expressed.

‘I look forward to working alongside its legendary Ateliers to craft the next chapter of this incredible story.’

It comes after an impressive 11-year tenure at the head of creatively playful powerhouse Loewe, a role he flourished in all while remaining head of JW Anderson, which has enjoyed collaborations with retailing giant UNIQLO since 2017.

While Jonathan himself has been candid about feeling like a ‘failure’ when he was young and being ‘twisted’ in confusion of what his future would look like (at one point he considered being a vet), it appears others around him were sure of a future fashionista. 

Speaking to British Vogue, in a special edition that saw Jonathan’s old teachers speak to the outlet, one old educator said: ‘Once I said, “Jonathan, what about fashion?”

‘And he looked at me, folded his arms with that expression that he does, and said, ‘Are you for real, Miss? They’ll all think I’m a big Jenny Wren.”

Elsewhere his father Willie told The Gloss: ‘We could see Jonathan’s artistic side from an early age – he was always drawing.

‘It comes from my wife and her father, who was a textile designer. Jonathan’s acting was fantastic, too. He did Fagan in Oliver, which was outstanding. I’m trying to get a copy of it at the moment.’

The rugby icon – whose son Thomas has too taken after him in a career in sport – however added that he feels fashion, much like his own industry, is ‘about resilience’.

‘We’ve been to shows at both London and Paris Fashion Week and the tension beforehand is the exact same as a big game,’ he expressed.

‘As a coach, you’re just hoping they go onto the pitch – or down the runway – exactly the way you want them to.’

Jonathan’s parents were fully support of his career, even re-mortgaging their home to ‘to try and get him through certain points’.

Willie told the Sunday Independent in April: ‘You’ll do anything for your kid if you believe their dream is not something that’s beyond them.

‘We saw something in Jonathan. And then we went about ensuring in his early days that we could help him fulfil his dream.’ 

Jonathan’s childhood was, however, also backgrounded with a difficult political time, as The Troubles plagued Northern Ireland.

‘I remember when they blew up Magherafelt high street, and driving past it every day when travelling to school. I remember a sports shop being blown off the face of the earth,’ he told British Vogue. 

‘There’s definitely something about growing up in Ireland. The craft, the family, the harshness – that has stayed with me.’

Ireland is not the only place which has resonated with Jonathan’s designs. The creative was also the mastermind behind LOEWE’s Paula’s Ibiza, a capsule collection of clothes and accessories inspired by the Spanish 70s boutique of the same name that came as a result of his reaching out to owners Armin Heinemann and Stuart Rudnick.

‘Paula’s Ibiza came about because of me trying to work out how to be Spanish,’ he explained to AnOther, as his family had a house on the island.

‘In a weird way the only connection I had to Spain was Ibiza. I didn’t go to Madrid or Barcelona. I remember Paula’s Ibiza from when I was a kid and then that brand disappeared.

‘That is Spain for me, and I love the idea of being able to start a brand within a brand like that, of buying the intellectual property and owning it. There’s colour, it’s lightweight – it is incredibly hot in Madrid. If you can’t reflect the country the brand is from, forget being able to sell it to the rest of the world.’ 

While he has always had an eye for style, Jonathan’s career first saw him moving to the US to try and become an actor, aged 18.

He was enrolled at the prestigious Juilliard School for a year and a half but then dropped out.

‘My parents were like, “Get back here right now. You’re spending way too much money”,’ he told the outlet.

On his return, Jonathan bagged a job at the Brown Thomas department store in Dublin, and later made his way to the London College of Fashion, from which he graduated in 2005. 

The designer’s next foray into the fashion world was as a Prada merchandiser in the Irish capital, RTE reports, where he worked on window displays for the company.

It’s there that Jonathan met Manuela Pavesi, the eccentric collaborator of the late Miuccia Prada – at one point its head designer and the founder of subsidiary Miu Miu.

According to the outlet, up until 2015, when she passed away, Jonathan had previewed each of his collections to her and ‘received his real education’ in the industry from doing so.

Now, Jonathan himself will be spearheading the vision at a major design label. 

‘Jonathan Anderson is one of the greatest creative talents of his generation,’ emphasised Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH.

‘His incomparable artistic signature will be a crucial asset in writing the next chapter of the history of the House of Dior.

The fashion designer has won several high-profile awards, including Designer of the Year at the 2024 Fashion Awards in December for the second year in a row. 

Anderson’s debut women’s ready-to-wear collection will take place this October during Paris Fashion Week, following his debut with the Dior menswear collection on the 27th of this month.