Five cornettes designed by Jonathan Anderson will be unveiled at the National Museum Cardiff alongside a new exhibition, Gwen John: Strange Beauties. Honoring the Welsh artist on the 150th anniversary of her birth, the exhibition showcases the first major collection of her work in over forty years.

“The cornette is a traditional religious headpiece made of starched white fabric that is folded upwards to resemble wings or horns,” said Lucy Wood, curator of Gwen John: Strange Beauties. “It was worn by the Dominican Sisters of Charity from the late eighteenth century until the 1960s, when the habit was redesigned by Dior.”

Anderson’s five cornettes will stand at the entrance of the exhibition displaying a range of shades present in John’s paintings. 

“Working in fashion you are always surrounded with the new, yet I’ve never got bored of Gwen John’s works—they grow on me and every time I see them in a different way,” the Dior creative director said in a statement.

Anderson owns a collection of John’s works, including a rare watercoloring depicting a nun on her deathbed. Religious dress and symbolism were a source of inspiration for the artist—the cornette appeared in several of her paintings, a representation of female spirituality. 

“When it comes to Gwen John, I think there are certain painters that hit a period in history that changes the way in which we see the female sitter,” Anderson said in a statement. “A woman painting a woman is very different to a man painting a woman because there is an understanding of the female form, there’s an understanding of emotion that is very difficult to get. I think that is why she is one of the greatest painters in British history, because she changes that dynamic.” 

Amgueddfa Cymru purchased its first painting by the artist in 1935, and is now home to the world’s largest public collection of her work. The exhibition will open at the National Museum Cardiff on February 7, 2026.