Paris Men’s Summer 2022 Highlights 2

Fashion’s speed master

Ever since Kim Jones has arrived at Dior Men in the summer of 2018 he has been putting his foot on the gas pedal. There have been collaborations with Kaws (for the first Summer 2019 show), Shawn Stussy, Kenny Scharf, Peter Doig amongst others and most recently rapper Travis Scott. While bringing in these artistic influences he also religiously updates and revisits the Dior archives for his collections. Hard to imagine how he can absorb and filter all this but Jones does it and very well. To the forefront has come a new silhouette in tailoring with a new double-breasted jacket, which is buttoned at the extreme right of the torso and a kaleidoscope of prints from the various artists. Needless to say, this fires up the cash registers at Dior with new merchandise drops nearly every month. Not to forget his recent collab with Nike for a new Dior sneaker. It doesn’t even seem to bother him that his latest co-creator Scott stars in the ad campaign of rival Kering brand Bottega Veneta. Jones makes it work like yesterday’s show proved emphatically. And yes, since January he is also a women’s Haute Couturier with Fendi.

A new silhouette

How this show came about?

Christian Dior took a trip to Texas in the 40’s and Travis Scott hails from Houston, Texas. Voilà, the connection is made and Jones intricately blends his own vision with his collaborator’s. For the setting of the show, the runway was transformed into a brightened desert flanked by larger-than-life-sized cacti, mushrooms, and flowers. The nature imagery captures the essence of Cactus Jack (Scott’s collaborative artistic collective) while incorporating the floral codes of Christian Dior. Hence Cactus Jack Dior.

The show setting

The clothes?

The House’s Toile de Jouy print was altered into a “Toile de Cactus”, the Dior logo altered to spell out “Jack”. The opening look of a black Hussar detail black coat over shiny pyramid pants and sneakers with hat had a Zorro reminiscence but anchored the collection in haute tailored street wear, the Jones hallmark. Sweaters and outerwear boasted graphic images of bulls and more rendering a futuristic vision of the Wild West.

Opening look

Jack print

The coup?

The combination of Dior tailoring with tour merchandise – a cornerstone of Scott’s empire – where a washed-out, paintsplashed black T-shirt was styled over a razor sharp black tuxedo. It looked fresh.

Kim Jones & Travis Scott