As luxury fashion seeks to adapt to the coronavirus crisis with a series of digital events, Dior’s men’s collection faced the issue of diversity on the catwalk in a new and timely change.
A week after the brand was criticized for featuring models in all-white ensembles during its womenswear couture presentation, menswear artistic director Kim Jones announced that the Spring 2021 collection he co-designed with the brand Only black models were used for the summer collection. Amoako Boafo is a famous Ghanaian portrait painter.
“This is not political. We started this in December,” Jones said from his home in London. “But one thing a designer can do is [reflect] For me, diversity comes naturally. It reflects the wider world. ”
Kim Jones. Photo: Getty
Entitled Portraits of the Artist, the collection will be screened as a two-part presentation, beginning with a film shot by video artist Chris Cunningham in Boafo’s studios in London and Ghana, and another featuring video artist Chris Cunningham. It featured clothing photographed by Chris Cunningham. A catwalk-like setting set to a Max Richter soundtrack.
Jones was inspired by Boafo’s Black Diaspora series, which explores Boafo’s identity and black masculinity. The artist’s influence was omnipresent, with Jones transposing the work onto clothing, in some cases hand-painting the portrait onto coats and knitwear, or simply borrowing the portrait’s print or mood.
Tailored shorts in various lengths and ribbed knits in neon yellow and pink were introduced. Sheer shirts, trench coats, and hoodies were in pastel colors, and jacquard patterns mimicked painted canvas. The models wore desert boots, socks and sandals, most wore a single earring, and some wore Stephen Jones berets.
The latter accessory provided the talk of the show. The e-invitation for the collection featured a portrait of Boafo in a green beret, wearing an ivy-patterned shirt and a green beret. His early work references the Black Panther movement, symbolized by berets and polo necks, another feature of the collection.
Boafo in the studio. Photo: Christian Dior
Boafo, 35, is known for his large-scale oil paintings of friends and activists, using brushes to apply color to their clothing while drawing the figures in thick gestural strokes with his fingers. “I love fashion. Fashion inspires my work. But what’s interesting to me is how they can apply my skills to clothing,” he says. Said.
Early signs include that the collection and the film have been well-received on social media. Pam Boy, senior editor at Love magazine, pointed to the fact that the Dior designer spent part of his childhood in various African countries. “Kim Jones is part of a very exclusive club of white Africans. That’s why he didn’t miss a beat in Dior SS21,” he tweeted.
Jones, formerly of Louis Vuitton, has become known for fusing suiting and streetwear, reinventing tailoring for a modern audience. These commercially successful partnerships helped make Dior the world’s largest luxury brand.
Ivy prints and polo necks appeared in the spring/summer collection. Photo: Christian Dior
Despite being in London since March, Jones has been working on three collections during lockdown. He said the team at Dior’s workshop in the capital fully followed coronavirus guidelines.
“I haven’t met many people outside of my team in England. We’ve been isolating to work together,” he said. “My main interest is how young designers and companies will be affected and what we can do to support them.”
But Jones remains hopeful that the industry can overcome the economic impact of the pandemic. “Let’s not forget that Christian Dior was born from the ashes of World War II,” he said.
Dior models wear costumes inspired by Boafo’s portraits. Photo: Public Relations
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