At Dior’s Fall 2019 menswear show in Paris, Kim Jones once again illustrated that the Dior suit is back in style. Jones sent out a collection of luxurious couture inspired suits and separates with modern painterly elements by punk artist Raymond Pettibon. The collection brought together Christian Dior’s own couture work in a spectacular collection that defined the season.
In complete contrast to the huge, sculptural sets for his previous collections at Dior, Jones created a modern version of the couture salon where models simply stand posed or meander slowly while guests examine the looks with full attention. To achieve this on the runway, he built a brightly lit moving walkway in a cavernous black tent where models in glimmering silk suits and sparkling embellished separates impressively held their balance in steady poses.
While researching locations for the show Jones was inspired by the statues of statesmen and historical heros seen in parks and offices around Paris, so his statuesque presentation holds a double meaning. The models, particularly the ones with (dare we say Napoleonic) draped sashes, looked a bit reminiscent of noblemen posing for a portrait. This collection in itself is Jones’ own well executed portrait of the modern man, and his proposal for the future of menswear.
Many people are not aware that Christian Dior was a gallerist before he was a couturier Jones cited about the numerous artist collaborations he has brought to Dior. This season’s collaboration with artist Raymond Pettibon is as a prime example, with the collection serving as the gallery space to the work. Though many of the artists he’s worked with at Dior are not always household names, they’ve all helped define and shape popular modern culture. The world of couture may seem like the complete antithesis to the world of punk rock, however Jones believes part of the role of a house like Dior is to define this moment of history, not just the history of couture.
Jones is not the kind of designer obsessed with rewriting house codes simply to serve his own purpose. What Jones is doing is illustrating a modern version of the atelier, pulling inspiration from the House of Dior and Christian Dior himself. The color palette elegantly described by Dior as “palest blue, mauve bisque, a symphony of pearlized grays, midnight blue and black”were favorites of Christian Dior. Also pulled from the archive is a resurgence of leopard prints, which Jones interpreted in mink intarsia short sleeve shirts and reworked into an embellishment of artwork by Raymond Pettibon on a sweater, and printed on a saddle bag. The draped sashes, clearly one of the most stunning details in the collection, was inspired by a Dior gown famously photographed by Richard Avedon on model Dovima with circus elephants.
It is rare to see a creative director who works like Kim Jones. His strength lies in his love of research, collecting, his dedication to the art of listening, and the wide net he casts for inspiration. Jones lived in multiple countries growing up, including Ecuador, Botswana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the Caribbean, before moving to London as a teenager. Undoubtedly, his world view planted a seed of looking in unexpected places for the pieces you want to adopt and memorialize. This may also be why his work has been so successful and relatable in an increasingly global world. Without skipping a beat Jones has produced some of the most noteworthy menswear collections we’ve seen. His appointment at Diorid s perfect fit, and sure to be a long remembered era in the history of Dior.
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