Dior READY-TO-WEAR SUMMER 2024 London Fashion Week

The Dior Legacy

Dior, the iconic haute couture house, stands tall in the fashion world. It represents the epitome of silhouette, shape, technique, and the very highest order of fabrication. Kim Jones, during his five-year tenure, has kept the house’s culture at the forefront while pushing boundaries with menswear. In a tribute to the past, his fifth-anniversary collection is a celebration of Dior’s predecessors. It’s a collage of influences combined with iconic Dior pop icons, particularly the Cannage.

The collection brings a medley of influences, from Yves Saint Laurent’s silhouettes to Gianfranco Ferré’s embroideries, Monsieur Dior’s cabochons to Marc Bohan’s textures. In this mechanical garden of ‘Hommes Fleurs,’ there’s a simultaneous embrace of tradition and subversion. From feminine to masculine, from the salon to the street, the transformation from the new look to the new wave is evident.

Celebrating Five Years at Dior

Jones’ fifth-anniversary collection also pays tribute to his own journey at Dior. It primarily draws on Yves Saint Laurent’s silhouettes, transforming and transposing them for a modern audience. The collection intertwines men’s histories with a melding of the masculine and feminine. British tailoring traditions meet haute couture tailleur, revealing the roots of womenswear fabrications in the men’s world.

This collection exudes a playful, crisp sense of modernity without losing the touch of tradition. Pop excess flirts with the formal and casual in individual garments, uniting luxury with utility. Simple and archetypal menswear items like the Harrington, polo, crew neck, and cardigan transform from ordinary to extraordinary through symbolic techniques that have shaped Dior over time.

A Tribute to Saint Laurent’s Tailoring

Saint Laurent’s tailoring once again finds a place in the world of menswear, with a focus on the volumes, vents, pleats, and necklines from his 1959 collections. The suits, summer ensembles, and sweeping coats carry an effortless masculine touch. Shoes take inspiration from the 1995’s Lady Dior bag, bringing new wave crepe into focus with a new circular logo.

The collection includes a variety of bags, from fluorescent saddles to cognac Cannage satchels. With a spectrum that ranges from extravagant to sober, there are also tweed rucksacks and leather sandwich bags. Stephen Jones reinterprets new wave beanies as liberty caps, replacing the cockade with ‘Ronghua,’ Chinese velvet flowers. This collaboration with Ronghua masters signifies an adaptation of tradition to celebrate the elegance of today more than ever.