At Dior, Kim Jones delves into the women's archives for his men's collection
By reconciling tailoring and sportswear codes , Kim Jones managed the feat of hijacking the house's legendary pieces , such as the Bar jacket, the production of which remains a technical feat.
"The conversation". With a definite article that could almost be written in capital letters, so much was it of the season! Just as it would have been almost possible to replace “conversation” with “collaboration” if Christian Dior had still been around. Because this title of the Collection Homme, Dior winter 2022-23 show perfectly sums up the state of mind of its artistic director Kim Jones. A follower of creative dialogue (he recently signed a four-handed show in California with Eli Russell Linnetz, founder of the ERL brand), the star designer of LVMH has no equal in bringing energies together. For the 75th anniversary of the fashion house on avenue Montaigne, he has chosen to highlight the heritage bequeathed by its founder, by resuming and masterfully diverting some of its most emblematic aesthetic codes. “What I always keep in mind during the creative process, he explains, is the elegance of the couture. With that as a benchmark, I dig into the archives and start a collection.” A big gap between two eras, two worlds, two genres, where the delicacies of the tailor's workshop meet the sportswear references in a skillful game of balance and with a triumphant contemporaneity. History shows that fashion is above all made to be alive, in perpetual motion. “I was inspired by the archives, the purity of the beginnings of the House, its original momentum. We looked at the first collections and focused on the architecture, transforming the pieces almost instinctively in a masculine and modern way, always keeping this joie de vivre that is at the heart of Christian Dior's creations.” And what he does not say here, useful to remember even if it seems obvious to him, not to say normal, is that these first collections were exclusively feminine. At the height of femininity, it was they who, in 1947, signaled the end of post-war austerity and the launch of the New Look revolution. Today, each of these emblematic references goes to the other side of the mirror and lives a second youth, with disconcerting ease. Starting with the Bar jacket, whose construction deserves a detour to the workshops.
The Bar jacket takes its shape from one of the two lines launched at the time by Christian Dior, baptized Corolle, and recognizable among a thousand by its play of volumes ensured by the combination of a full skirt and a jacket with the shoulders soft but with a waist marked with basques accentuating the hips. A reference in terms of tailoring, this jacket has survived the decades of 30 avenue Montaigne and remains characteristic of the technical expertise work of its workshops, consisting of erasing the seams with a handmade construction game. Two thirds of a century later, Kim Jones has redesigned it in its masculine version, without losing any of its sensuality, leaving the game of raw and contrasting seams clearly visible, just to affix his signature to it, which underlines the work cutting and the addition of horsehair traditionally used for the volume of the curve. Characteristic curves that can be found on other pieces in the collection, a long coat, a leather jacket... “This is the first time that I have worked with real workshops, including one exclusively dedicated to men's collections , and it's unique in Paris, underlines the designer. Here, we have exceptional know-how, from which are born creations that really stand out from those of our competitors. It is a House very different from the others, where we think 'couture'.” And well beyond the Bar jacket, other nods to the work of Christian Dior enliven the entire collection: the colors first, whose palette recalls the couturier's childhood home in Granville, such as blue , pastel pink and above all this Trianon grey, sometimes called Montaigne grey, which he had made his own in 1947 for the renovation of the private mansion on avenue Montaigne, and which has remained ever since. Next, prints, such as leopard, lily of the valley, cane, and even the effigy of Bobby, the designer -founder 's dog , which can be found on a sweater, shirts and underpants. So many signs of the past revisited by Kim Jones, jostled with current references, like these Dior by Birkenstock sandals inspired by the images of Monsieur Dior gardening at the La Colle Noire estate, his vacation spot in the Var hinterland.
There is no doubt that we touch here on this generational alchemy so difficult to find, and of which Kim Jones is one of the few to have the secret. “I am convinced that young people want to learn from the past. I will continue to respect the history and spirit of Dior, cultivated over decades, while creating things in my own way that will interest people. Dior is still very modern when you look at archive pieces. That's probably why he's still around, and so important.”
