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Dior’s season inspiration comes from the genius of Kim Jones

AS EVER, the collection is founded on the history of Dior, its excellence of cut, tailoring, and craft. But it also reinterprets modern history, a new heritage. The Dior newspaper print, introduced 20 years ago as part of the spring-summer 2000 haute-couture collection, is redrafted, once again in collaboration with Daniel Arsham. The collection also telescopes to now, underscoring styles Kim Jones has introduced to the House of Dior: a selection of neo-classics. The tailleur oblique of Kim Jones’s debut is reiterated, its details adapted to outerwear; the reinvention of the Dior saddle bag continues, its curves adapted as storm-flaps on coats; and draped volant sashes introduced for winter 2019-2020 evolve. Today, they have a shaded touch, dragging through the sand of the show décor, it appears as if they are already marked by the passage of a different measure of time. Others outline the lapels of tailored jackets, like cast shadows. The notion of the hand is the essence of couture. Translating it into men’s wear continues: Parisian ateliers create clouds of pleated georgette, enveloping the figure like pigment in water while, expressing the universality of craft, toile de jouy patterns are hand-painted by kimono craftsmen from Kyoto, Japan. Both methods recall another era.