Give me Björk hair-knots or a pristine Spok bowl cut. Give me a space nebula backdrop and a comic techno soundtrack. Give me trippy Kenny Scharf graphics in joyful, spray-paint colours and package it all up with Couture-level craftsmanship. In short: Give me the entire Kim Jones Dior Fall 21 collection and give it to me now. The designer presented in Beijing, at an event that reinvented the fashion show as an immersive rave-meets-art exhibition-meets-runway experience. It was exhilarating.
Jones has become known for his virtuoso approach to fabrication and this time used traditional Chinese craftsmanship and techniques to transfer Scharf’s merry neon imagery onto embroidery for belts and bags, as well as for traditional knot tassels which symbolise luck and prosperity – something in short supply in 2020. Those dramatic embroidered and tasselled belts were used to cinch the suiting and when the models were silhouetted against the glorious cosmic light show, they looked fleetingly like Chinese warriors. Silhouette was a big story here, strong shoulders, defined waists and wide trousers cropped above the ankle – showing off those Dior high-tops beautifully. Club Kid euphoria meets Couture? Only Jones could make it work.
Photography by Valentin Hennequin.
He’s such an all-rounder. Technique, craft, silhouette, showmanship, heritage, modernity: Jones can do it all. But what makes him so exciting is his ability to channel those complex strands into product that makes the heart sing, the imagination soar and the purse strings fly open. Are you already obsessing about the silk brocade trousers, monogram slippers or Chinese tassel saddlebag? Probably. Good riddance 2020. Jones just gave us a jubilant preview of 2021. We can’t wait to get there.
Top images courtesy of Dior.
