-
Dior Men SS19

Written by

No items found.
In an elaborate circular arena complete with a giant black floral sculpture by the artist KAWS, representing the silhouette of Mr. Dior and his dog Betty, Kim Jones debut his show for Dior Men putting an end to the era of the skinny suits.  The 40 feet tall sculpture by the U.S. artist was composed of over 70,000 individual flowers at the courtyard of the barracks of the Garde Républicain signaled Jones’ intention on how he will ground his vision of Dior going forward. The designer took inspirations from Mr Dior and his numerous artist friends, gallery owners, his love of flowers and interior designs as well as  from the women’s couture traditions at the center of the brand.  Jones articulated this dual tribute to the myth and the reality of the Dior brand with a collection that embraced a personal style of clothes reinforced by the artful craftsmanship of the house’s atelier.  The show opened with a soft shoulder ecru and light sky blue slightly loose double-breasted jacket in a combination of striped silk, silk linen and tropical wool with loose pants and high top Dior Oblique pattern sneakers overlay with clear plastic, the same worn by Prince Nikolai of Denmark. It set the tone for the break with the past two decades.  What followed was a white sheer tulle shirt with toile de Jouy pattern and embroidered with white feathers worn with white shorts. It showed off the atelier's might at achieving the lightness without showing much effort.  The pattern on the shirt mimicked the wallpaper in the Dior's first boutique opened in 1947.  A great look from this opening sequence was the white with subtle stripes slim jacket-loose pantsuit with a matching trench and paired with a white lace Oblique logo tank and a large silver choker necklace to add an element of street vibe.   The overall softer silhouette with white and pastels, including the light pink suits, were a translation and imparting of the women’s couture heritage onto masculine clothes.  The new Tailleur Oblique jacket – a double-breasted garment wrap around the front of the body was built from a 1950 Autumn-Winter couture collection.  The range of floral embroideries came from the Chinese porcelain vases owned by Mr. Dior now made into a double layered organza blouson with roses embroidered underneath a sheer organza floral. Jones provided a pedigree of sportswear clothes – the designer’s specialty – to provide a solid footing at retailers around the globe coming springtime.  Witness the variety of blousons in floral patterns, short trenches, summer surf shorts, loose shirt-jackets, logo tanks, denim jackets and jeans with the Dior’s bee reimagined by KAWS. There were also hooded sweatshirts on the runway and possibly a greater range at the showroom.  A concentration on footwear and a serious expansion into the accessories range with the women’s saddle bag now rendered as backpacks, cross body bags and belt bags as well as some totes and weekend bags with the ‘cannage’ patterns.   Don’t forget the jewelry collaborations such as the CD logo earrings and bracelets by Yoon Ann of Ambush and the special CD logo on belts by Matthew Williams of Alyx. Here Jones evolved a Dior women shape into a man’s jacket and this may be a way forward at Dior Men thus playing with the structure of clothes.