While Jonathan Anderson was revealed last week as the designer behind Taylor Swift‘s custom wedding dress (his first bridal commission at Dior), there was little time to pause, as he returned the following week to present Dior‘s haute couture collection to a star-studded front row.

For his second couture collection at Dior, Anderson was inspired by the work of American sculptor Lynda Benglis. Benglis’s work begins with two-dimensional materials that are transformed through knotting, pleating, or moulding. He saw a similar transformation occur in couture—where fabric unlocks a sculptural form that fluctuates and moves when worn. Inspired by his muse, he designed pieces that can be moulded to the body in a sculptural (yet fluid) way.

While researching Benglis’s body of work, he came across various Indian craft techniques and was particularly drawn to the 18th-century chintz tradition, a glazed fabric with colourful floral or decorative patterns. This was applied to the Petit Diner and Mini Lady Dior bags, igniting a dialogue between Indian craft and European decorative arts, topped with a Benglis-inspired bow.

Shoes have a sheen or lattice overlay which mimics the surfaces and materials of Benglis’s art. Meanwhile, ornaments inspired by Benglis’s Peacock series are seen across pumps. These references carried over into jewelry with floral motifs pulled from rare antique Indian textures. While both Anderson and Benglis are drawn to form, this fascination was evident on the runway, with sculptural pieces imbued with dimension, volume, and shape (with lots of pleats in between).

Extending beyond the runway, from 7–12 July, Grammar of Forms will be presented in the Musée Rodin show space, an exhibition bringing together pieces from the new haute couture collection, creations from the Dior archive, and artworks by Lynda Benglis.

Images courtesy of Dior.