Dior starts the ball rolling with its men’s couture

«I had been thinking about the relationship between Margot Fonteyn and Monsieur Dior. The masculine interpretation of this also involved thinking about her most famous dance partner, Rudolf Nureyev». Kim Jones, the creative genius behind Dior’s menswear collection, led Bernard Arnault’s maison on a dance performance at Paris fashion week, drawing inspiration from the renowned russian dancer and choreographer, who is an icon both on and off the stage.

An aesthetic clash echoed throughout the collection, where two souls intertwine. Kim Jones presents men’s couture for the first time, making a dramatic entrance in the finale following the ready-to-wear collection. The initial rigor, enhanced by rehearsal room headbands, ballet-inspired footwear, mono earrings, a palette of neutral colors, and Saharan jackets, sparks with the sacred flame of art, amid kimonos, crystal fringes, and jewel applications around the neck that peek out from beneath jackets.

«Nureyev is very connected to my personal history», Kim Jones explained. «My uncle, the photographer Colin Jones, was a dancer, and they were friends. He also photographed Nureyev. The collection, or rather collections, are about contrast. The contrasts in the House of Dior in terms of ready-to-wear and haute couture. It is the difference between onstage and backstage; the life of Nureyev theatrically and in reality. Here it is a meeting of the dancer’s style with that of the Dior archive». This collision unfolds in the grand finale, with rotating circular platforms elevating for a coup de théâtre, accompanied by a musical movement from Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, specifically Dance of the Knights, which Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn had performed in London in 1965.

Judgment. Kim Jones deliberately creates two different rhythms, beginning with a more restrained presentation of ready-to-wear and then accelerating into high gear for the debut of the Lvmh group’s brand men’s couture. This strategic split creates two different worlds that, despite communicating with each other, maintain their unique aesthetic voice, appealing to different Dior enthusiasts. It also unleashes energy to give a stronger push to the more researched part, men’s haute couture, potentially opening new exploration opportunities for the brand. (All rights reserved)