Kim Jones Redefines the Present Day Masculine Silhouette With Dior FW23
The collection pays homage to the late Yves Saint Laurent by intertwining old and new tailoring traditions.
Kim Jones has done it again. Earlier today, the British designer presented his Dior menswear Fall/Winter 2023 runway show during Paris Fashion Week, paying homage to the late Yves Saint Laurent and his time at the house.
The show was an ethereal experience, hosted in a black box with dim lighting and a live orchestra that soundtracked the entire show. The show saw Kim Jones’ closest circle attend, including David Beckham, Naomi Campbell, J Balvin, Robert Pattinson, Gwendoline Christie and Eddie Redmayne. Perhaps two showgoers that received the greatest attention were BTS members J-Hope and Jimin. Jimin was recently announced as Dior’s global ambassador while J-Hope has been announced as Louis Vuitton‘s ambassador. Both Pattinson and Christie played a major role in the show, lending their acting skills to narrate an entire storyline that set the tone for the visual presentation of movement and fluidity. In a statement, Kim Jones said about the collection,
“The cycle of a fashion house is about regeneration and rejuvenation, just like the cycle of fashion itself. There is always something of the past in the present and future and Dior is no different.
In this collection, we wanted to look at the regeneration of the house after the death of Mr. Dior, and its rejuvenation with Yves Saint Laurent – his chosen heir – drawing a parallel in literature, through imagery and themes in the wasteland. It’s where an old world meets a new one, in change and in flux.”
Jones pays tribute to Yves Saint Laurent by finding inspiration from his Spring/Summer 1958 collection. Garments are taken from the archive, including from Laurent’s Marine ensemble. Jones adapts the off-the-shoulder tailoring from the acacias with sourcing insouciance for masculine wool suiting. Much like SS58, Jones brings together traditional masculine and feminine tailoring traditions through haute couture tailleur. He fuses modern silhouettes informed by his background in streetwear, all while creating a refreshed perspective on his practical and modern aesthetic for the house. Amalgamating the formal and casual, silhouettes are softened with curves and hybridized and metamorphosed.
Through it all, the collection is effortless, infusing all the precisions and complexity of traditional tailoring, but presented in a way that looks undemanding and straightforward. New footwear was revealed in the collection including 3D-printed shoes and boots. Utilitarian outerwear extends the house’s motifs on a contemporary level, while bags with the classic Dior oblique are reimagined with elegance.
Take a look above at the Kim Jones’ Dior FW23 collection.
In other fashion news, Junya Watanabe MAN FW23 presents the modern gentleman.
