SPECTATORS witnessed a modern renaissance of Dior at their AW19 show at Paris Fashion Week Men’s. A thin strip of bulbs suspended from the ceiling left the audience cloaked in darkness, casting their light only on the narrow, 76-metre conveyor belt that ran the length of the space.
As techno music blasted through the void, the models appeared on the runway-conveyor, one by one, standing completely still. Some may argue this rather simplistic set marks Kim Jones’ departure from his previous elephantine theatrical scenery. But it cannot be argued that this set creates its own monumental theatricality.
“This time I wanted the clothes to be the statues,” mused Jones before the show, and the sentiment could not have been clearer as the show began. As the stationary models moved along the conveyor belt, each look was devoured by the audience in its unique stylistic presentation. The clothing was luxurious, refined and extraordinary.
A palette of black, charcoal and brindled beige dominated with accents of metallic silver and blue pastel. As Dior is a house famed for its feminine fashion, these accents may seem epicene in nature. But Jones’ transforms them into modern masculine pieces that breathe new life into the house of Dior.
Scarves of shimmering silver are wrapped through double breasted suits, reminiscent of regal sashes wrapped around the statues of ancient leaders. But the creator is not Michaelangelo this time, it’s Jones carving out this new era at the fashion house one look at a time.
These statuesque figures begin to armour up as the show progresses, equipped with harnesses and buckles fit for battle. Lace details and soft blue embroidery soften the sharp tailored lines of the garments. Trousers and jackets sheen like freshly polished armour, but with the soft, easy movements of a freshly pressed silken dress. Accessories of gleaming silver – like the iconic Saddle bag now appearing as a crossover – begin to appear, another arrow in the collections quiver. The iconic saddle bag — now in silver and worn in a cross-body style — pays homage to the designs of the past, but with a contemporary update. Monogrammed pouches that can hold two iPhone’s cater to the modern, millennial consumer but don’t disrupt the elegant silhouettes we have grown accustomed to from Dior.
This theme continues as the show proceeds, as Jones follows Christian Dior’s love of the natural world through the addition of animal print in the form of tiger printed knitwear, alluding to the quiet confidence of the big cats themselves. Leather accompanied the print to give it a utilitarian edge.
A collaboration with American artist Raymond Pettibon came to fruition in this AW19 collection, a move pioneered by Jones and inspired by the house’s great founder’s time spent as an art curator. Pettibon’s crowning glory closes the show, a knitwear piece featuring an embroidered, smirking Mona Lisa. Although almost tongue in cheek, the hours of dedication required to craft such a garment reinforces Dior’s position as one of the most extravagant and quality-focused houses in fashion.
As the model-statues stood to attention in a seemingly unending manufacturing-line of sophisticated male attire during the finale, the line between historic grandeur and contemporary configuration blurred. These exquisite cyborg-statues exuded the confidence and elegance of the Dior man of the past, present and future.
by Lucy May McCracken
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