Fashion shows can be moved to the Gobi Desert, uninhabited Iceland, or collaborate with ethnic tribes on small islands in the Pacific Ocean, and for Kim Jones, these unconventional approaches are worthy of respect. However, for him personally, some ideas and concepts still need to be rooted in the fundamentals, and history is often the best medium to access every aspect of these ideas. In the Dior Men’s 2023 summer collection, creative director Kim Jones continues to choose to start from ideas and history, sharing the beauty of Dior’s summer.
This series continues the conversation of winter, celebrating the 75th anniversary of Christian Dior. Led by Kim Jones, the artistic director of the men’s collection, it transcends space and time, taking us from the brilliant Paris to the serene countryside. Starting from the birthplace of founder Christian Dior in Normandy and the legendary garden of Granville, to the rural residences of Bloomsbury Group artist Duncan Grant in Sussex and Charleston, combining elements of practicality, nature, and gardening. Once again connecting personal experiences with the brand’s past, present, and future, creating a summer routine for Dior Men.
The entire series has 52 styles. In terms of color, he evolved from the abundance of Dior gray in FW22 to a spectrum that can reflect changes in light and natural environment. Starting with colors representing soil such as sand, brown, Dior Grey, then shifting focus to green and blue colors associated with gardening, walking, and fishing, and finally stepping back to admire the vibrant flowers in the garden, revealing a series of pastel shades. The entire layout is like taking a trip to Granville and Charleston Trust, joyful and fulfilling.
Stepping into the garden, each uniquely designed piece of clothing carries a rebellious touch to varying degrees, both luxurious and practical. The reimagined wool double-breasted coat paired with 1930s fabric belted shorts, the new Bar Jacket made of semi-transparent silk organza, the casual cotton windbreaker draped over a reflective technology vest – formal with a hint of informality, effortlessly presenting a contemporary style. Influenced by his childhood and travels to various parts of the world, Kim Jones has an extraordinary connection to the natural world. Therefore, when the Summer 23 collection thrives from the earth of nature, there are certain designs that the collection cannot do without – backpacks, shorts, waterproof protectors, Cannage rattan pattern sandals, or a range of Dior men’s bags that can hold a water bottle.
Dior is synonymous with craftsmanship, even when entering nature, this is an unchanging law. In this series, the brand’s workshop also collaborated with the outdoor technology brand Mystery Ranch to redesign their rescue equipment; hat master Stephen Jones also took inspiration from the gardening straw hat worn by Duncan Grant throughout his creative life, combining it with the lattice structure of Mr. Dior’s garden pavilion, overlaying the “Pergola” gardening hat on a baseball cap in a three-dimensional printing manner; Duncan Grant’s 1913 creation “Lily Pond Screen” is displayed on reflective technical fabric in hand-embroidered form.
Even the seemingly unremarkable Look 38 is the treasure trove of the collection. The team sourced 16th-century Kutnu woven threads from Turkey, then used hand-dyeing techniques, passed through ancient giant weaving instruments, and made the top with hand-woven overlapping techniques – it is understood that the thread density reaches about 5700 overlapping threads per meter – fully showcasing the craftsmanship of the Dior Atelier.
Kim Jones shared: “The climates of Granville and Sussex are similar: the weather, sunshine, and gardens remind one of the other. For Christian Dior and Duncan Grant, their homes, gardens, and private spaces were very important to their creative work. They transformed these deeply meaningful private domains into public works.”
Throughout the series of fashion shows, clothing, and Kim Jones’ explanations, you will find that the name Duncan Grant keeps appearing. Who is he? Duncan Grant, also from the Bloomsbury Group, was a famous Impressionist painter, poet, theater costume and prop designer, and textile designer in the 19th century. He embraced a non-mainstream lifestyle of free love, even loving another poet from the group, Paul Roche, for 30 years. The two never lived together, but they influenced each other’s creative thinking throughout their lives, making this Platonic love story a historical example of love. Kim Jones chose Duncan Grant as the background and core of the Summer 23 series not only because of his similar life experiences to Christian Dior or himself, but also because he hopes to showcase this profound creative purity through clothing.
Some ideas and concepts still need to start from the ground up, that’s the general idea.
資料及圖片來源：Courtesy of DIOR
