The first thing that strikes you is its quiet, statuesque precision. The stone-colored smoothness of a wrapover jacket. Light and shadow highlight the perfectly curved pleats of the pants. Please scroll. It’s clear that we’ll soon see a gallery showing what Kim Jones has built for Dior Men over five years, and even more so, an overview of the ideas he’s been developing for menswear throughout his career.
In layman’s terms, it’s the sense of everyday wear that Jones brings to fashion, and he’s at once casualizing and formalizing formal wear for men who buy luxury-level clothing. It is. Or, as he puts it, “the ambiguity between formal and informal.” This season’s spin revolves around Jones’ fascination with 1970s and ’80s New York style, per the press release. “The collision of uptown and downtown, preppy and cool was reflected in the fashion, movies, art world, and photography of the time.”
You don’t need to know that. Because, without the bells and whistles of a runway show, this summer’s pre-collection has an effortless clarity that Jones has so precisely dialed in over time. The indelible imprint of that wrap jacket, which he has evolved for Dior since his stunning Fall 2019 collection along the moving walkway, remains. Dior’s “Cannage” pattern is used as quilting on the bomber jacket. The light layering of trench coats, untucked shirts, and a strange sportiness reminiscent of baseball and polo shirts. A knit tie is a key point of retro styling.
Convincing people to part with their money for luxury clothing is harder than it has been in years. Jones’ uncluttered, streamlined, multi-generational products are not a passing trend, but a smart proposition for that kind of piecemeal investment. The press release states: “Avoiding the idea of disposable fashion, both the quality of manufacture and timeless design reflect a sense of inheritance: something to be passed down, the concept of an ‘archive of the future’.”
