Dior Mens Took Miami...
Once upon a time, fashion shows were staged as part of the regular calendar: held in one of four cities, twice a year. But this is a competitive industry, and as soon as some of the major houses started hosting destination events to present their womenswear and resort offerings, the oft-marginalised collections became full-on productions showcased across the globe. It wasn’t until Kim Jones joined Dior that menswear joined the fray: his inaugural pre-fall show, last year, was a gargantuan affair in Tokyo – and, this time, Dior Men’s took Miami. Staged on the eve of Art Basel – the fair which, in recent years, has been somewhat adopted as an extension of the fashion calendar – it was a tribute to Monsieur Dior’s love for both America and the arts. After all, before he was a couturier, Dior was a gallerist.
... And Invited Its Audience Into The Art World
The show was staged directly opposite the new Rubell Museum: a 52,000sq ft industrial exhibition space in Miami’s Allapattah district, whose opening was scheduled to coincide with Basel. Amassed over 50 years, the museum’s private collection spans 7,200 pieces by 1,000 artists and here, in its new home, around 300 are on display: from John Baldessari and Cindy Sherman to Kehinde Wiley and Jenny Holzer. A room filled with Keith Haring’s work; Jeff Koons installations; two of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror rooms… it’s a spectacular line-up, and Dior’s guests were invited to mill among it before its opening to the public. The opportunities afforded to press and clients as part of the cruise theatrics have become ever more astronomical in recent years – and this was a particularly good one.
Shawn Stussy Joined Jones In Ending “Streetwear” For Good
Jones has invited an artistic collaborator to work with him on each of his collections thus far: already under his tenure, Raymond Pettibon, Kaws, Daniel Arsham and Hajime Sorayama have been invited to rework the Dior logo and codes. “This time, we chose to work with someone who isn’t a classic artist – Shawn Stussy – but one of the things I recognise in all of the artists I work with is the quality of line that they have. And watching him work: he’s an artist.”
Forty years after the launch of his eponymous brand, which became synonymous with surfer subculture and beachfront aesthetics, that line appeared in abundance. Stussy was brought out of retirement to remix Dior with his renowned penmanship: everything from the show space to sports socks was graffitied with his writing. Jones has often been credited with bringing streetwear into luxury terrain – and, he reflected, “that term gets thrown around left, right and centre, but Stussy was the person who probably started the movement. Like me, though, he hates the term. He said, if we do a couture collection [in that spirit] then it’s the end of streetwear, because it doesn’t mean anything now.” Ergo: beaded psychedelic shirting with his penmanship writ large took 2,600 hours of embroidery to create, and a wealth of couture techniques appeared on everything from berets to footwear. This is when we stop using the term streetwear, and instead consider its energy a founding principle of modern menswear.
That Air Jordan Was Officially Unveiled
The internet went into meltdown a few weeks ago when news of Dior’s latest trainer collaboration first emerged – and its full unveiling certainly didn’t disappoint. A limited-edition iteration of the all-American Air Jordan 1, designed to commemorate Dior’s menswear debut in the States. Each pair is made in Italy from calf leather and stars a Swoosh formed of Dior oblique canvas (the monogram is also laser-etched into the soles for what we can imagine will ensure an excellent footprint). Here is the unison of two of the world’s most recognisable logos, and sportswear reconsidered with couture finesse. Pretty major (especially when paired with those Stussy Dior socks).
And The Clothes Were, Well, Excellent
An homage to lo-fi beachfront eclecticism executed with the most extravagant techniques, the collection was a mash-up of Miami flamboyance and abundant psychedelia. It was bad taste done right: shimmering snakeskin trousers and tutti-frutti printed shirting; layers upon layers of gauzy florals and outré knits; bucket hats blooming with corsages and ornately beaded utility wear. As the menswear market continues to expand its definition of masculinity, Jones is leading the charge – while there was plenty of the elegant suiting that Dior has quickly become renowned for, there was a wealth of weirdly wonderful pieces on offer. Plus, the stream of accessories: shoppers printed with Stussy’s Dior logo; beaded berets; logo-emblazoned water bottles; endless variations on the saddlebag (those snakeskin versions!). “I’m a commercial artist,” smiled Jones to me recently. “I think things are going so well because I’m not afraid to do things that are commercial.” This proved the point perfectly: there’s plenty that ought to fly off the shelves.
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