MEN AT ARMS

To understand ceremonial dress and the idea of couture, we talk to Kim Jones about Dior tailoring codes, Peter Doig’s art, and creating the Winter 2021/2022 collection that is equal parts glamour and finesse

LIKE MEN OF DISTINCTION stepping out a renaissance painting, Kim Jones’ latest Dior Winter 2021-2022 with Peter Doig is a kaleidescope of military tailoring tradition and the aesthetic sensibility of a Scottish painter. In fact, cross-cultural referencing has been so emblematic of Kim Jones’s curatorial ethos that these art-collaboration collections could probably pay for themselves as art to be displayed rather than something to be worn. Doig’s 2013 Spearfishing, a canvas with two men in a boat, one dripped in orange and the other in yellow readily calls to mind Jones’ muse. Doig’s lion from Rain in the Port of Spain recalling an outfit Monsieur Dior himself wore to a ball, itself made by Pierre Cardin seemed to be the ultimate meta-head nod that echoed through three generations of couture heritage.

Opening with a glit embroidered coat like those worn by Royal Officers attending court with their Monarch, Jones adopted the traditional ceremonial coat tails. These are an aesthetic detail more readily found on modern men’s formal wear than haute couture, thus the crossover from male bespoke to the work of Dior’s embroidery ateliers is a living tradition perpetuated ‒ translating archival pieces of Doig’s painintgs into prints and embroidery. With Dior Men Winter 2021-2022, tailoring is sophisticated albeit in brighter hues; departing from, yet recalling the sort of military regalia that has informed menswear for centuries. What Jones has done via Doig is modernise a historic era and made it sartorially relevant in an age of limited attention and instant gratification.

Modernising couture techniques, Dior developed a new version of chiné or warp printing, where the threads of the fabric are printed before being woven, what results is a collection that is more akin to living paintings than your ‘usual’ haute couture.

Is it difficult to blend Dior codes and heritage with fresh inspiration for the Dior Winter 2021-2022 Men’s collection?

We looked at French painters, ceremonial dress, and the formality of the couture house, and then really worked on the embellishment of the fabrics and knitwear, and the idea of something grand and large.

Artists like Doig and Cardin usually adopt divergent themes in their work, how did you tie it all together for this latest men’s collection?

For the winter 2021-2022 collection, we were looking with Peter Doig at the idea of ceremonial costume and a modern interpretation of it, with a strong focus on tailoring. There are different themes and different areas of Peter’s paintings. We have the “lion” motif, which comes from an outfit Christian Dior wore to a masked ball that was actually made by Pierre Cardin. Then, we have the landscapes, and the silhouettes of people, which we explored via embroidery, knitwear, jacquards and various fabrications. The colour palette really came from Peter’s artworks.

Couture savoir-faire is typically found on womenswear, what was it like finding an execution men could understand and appreciate?

As for the previous seasons, I wanted to continue researching the Dior archive and to find within those incredible pieces of couture craftsmanship something that can be reinterpreted for the modern man. This season, we were inspired by the Rosella, a haute couture dress designed by Marc Bohan in the 1960s. There is a fascinating balance between the simplicity of the stitchwork and the final visual effect that feels incredibly rich. It was originally on a white silk base, but I wanted to bring a sense of men’s luxury and used a black

cashmere flannel to cut a single-button coat and classic shirt.

Bespoke suiting has been a foundation for menswear. Did you manage to incorporate it in this collection?

We wanted the tailoring to be quite sophisticated and in bright colours. We thought it would be nice to have something that has that sort of regalia feel to it in an interesting way, that formalises it and underpins it in a sort of historic painting mode.

Menswear often feels like the usual cotton and wool creations, what sort of new fabrics did you experiment with?

Continuing in the same vein of looking at ways to modernise couture techniques, we worked on a new version of Chiné (warp printing), where the threads of the fabric are printed before the fabric is woven.

This gives a beautiful diffused look to the artworks. Traditionally on silk, we experimented with a recycled polyester to move this technique away from ball gowns and toward outerwear and a more modern look.

Which garment best exemplifies or is most iconic of the collection?

I really love the idea of this almost marching band jacket, which is a reference to my graduate collection, and just the idea of all the outerwear. For me, it’s a really important category this season.

Was the Peter Doig connection a long-stewing idea or an inspired zap from nowhere?

I’ve known about his work for a long time and have been completely in love with it for years and then I got to meet Peter, who was also very close with Stephen Jones from Dior, through Jerry Stafford and immediately made a connection. We have a lot of similar

interests. I love Peter because there are so many different facets to his work and life, and I think his laid-back attitude to being completely open to everything is wonderful.

There are many zeitgeist artists in the world, why Peter?

I was looking at Peter’s paintings of formal, ceremonial, dressed-up men, which strongly remind me of rousseau or French artists of that time, and I thought it really fitted with the idea of what we had in mind for the season.

Can an artist do fashion design? What was Peter’s input to the collection?

With Peter, it’s the most collaborative way we’ve worked with an artist yet, he’s been with us every single step of the way and adding more and more layers each time, it’s been really nice. He sits in on all the fittings, and the styling. The discussion is completely open.

will probably just be a slight difference in style.

You quite literally set the benchmark for the modern fashion collaboration. What are your perspectives on this phenomenon you’ve created? What is the secret to making a good collaborative collection?

For me, it’s primarily about input from outside. That is simply good for a major fashion house. Some might accuse me of that ‒ “he’s always just collaborating” ‒ but ultimately I want to have joy in my work. And I want the customers to enjoy it.

Besides, it fits the times. There are fashion designers who are actually artists or architects ‒ or they make music on the side. I concentrate on fashion, but I like to work with others for this purpose. The important thing is to be able to always give value to their contribution without dropping it in, but rather integrating it into the collection.