“At night, under the moonlight, there was a small egg lying on a leaf…”
With these words one of the world’s most famous children’s books begins. Now an icon of luxury! Because: The hungry little caterpillar is back – this time as a designer piece at Dior.
Hungry butterfly larvae owe a debt of gratitude to Jonathan Anderson (41), creative director of Dior.
Anderson posted a loving tribute to a book that has influenced generations around the world on Instagram with the caption “Pre-Fall 2026.” He refers to the collection that will be released between the summer and fall collections.
Her fans are already loving the bag, avidly commenting, “I’d put a slice of chocolate cake, ice cream, a pickle, a slice of Swiss cheese and a slice of salami in it…”, referring to the delicacies the caterpillars eat. Or with “On Sunday she spent all her savings 😂” – considering the price of a comparable Dior bag (2150 to 3650 euros).
Applause for designer Jonathan Anderson after the presentation of the Dior Spring/Summer 2026 collection in Paris on October 1, 2025
On June 3, 1969, “The Insatiable Little Caterpillar” was published.
Why, of all things, a children’s book cover on a luxury bag?
The caterpillar is part of Anderson’s reinterpretation of Dior’s so-called “Book Tote.”
It really pays homage to the book – and to Maria Grazia Chiuri (61), the first female designer since the house was founded in 1947. Appointed in 2016, she searched the archives – and found a sketch from 1967. In 2018, the result was a simple bag with an angular shape that looked like it was trying to carry three novels. It’s not surprising, because it is said that many works of philosophy, art and literature are everywhere in Chiuri’s office. Her bag is a silent sign of this. Anderson made a loud noise now.
Instead of the usual logo, the collection is decorated with legendary book covers, including the original “Dracula” by Bram Stoker (published in 1897) and extraordinary typography from “Dangerous Liaisons” by Choderlos de Laclos (published in 1782) to the latest design with the children’s book “The Very Little Caterpillar”.
The book by the Irish writer Bram Stoker (†1912) about Dracula, the most famous vampire in the history of literature, was published in 1897
A classic children’s book with cult status
“The Little Caterpillar Nimmersatt” by German-American children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle (†2021) was published in 1969 and became an international bestseller. The story is both simple and ingenious: a small caterpillar eats all kinds of delicious food and eventually becomes a butterfly. The sides were full of holes – as if the caterpillars themselves had eaten them. In Germany the book was published by Gerstenberg Verlag.
