Bending Time at Dior Men's Summer 2020 Show
Dior presented its Menswear Summer 2020 Collection at Paris Fashion Week, which featured the Maison's stunning collaboration with artist Daniel Arsham and luggage brand Rimowa. Above all, the new collection bridged the old and the new.
In fact, collaborations have been a pretty big thing for Dior since Kim Jones was appointed as the creative director of Dior Men in March 2018. His Pre-Fall 2019 collection, for example, featured a collaboration with Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama. The designer has since been gearing the fashion house to taking on more contemporary and street style elements to its classic design.
Similarly, for the Summer 2020 menswear collection, Kim Jones took on a theme that highlighted both new designs and Dior classics, while keeping the Maison rooted in couture. The theme introduced for this season revolved around the archaeology of Dior.
The collaboration with artist Daniel Arsham, whose contemporary work looks at archaeology of the present, fitted perfectly with the theme. Models paraded down the runway in a mix of neutral tones and splashes of vibrant colours — orange, blue and pink like the sand the models walked upon.
The show was made even more special with the showroom that guests had to walk through before entering. Done up with pieces from Arsham's Future Relics collection, the showroom was a remake of Christian Dior's old office and featured objects like his phone, clock, desk and more.
The designs in the collection undoubtedly reflected Dior's fine tailoring and classic designs, as much as it introduced new styles. For instance, the intricacy of making each outfit can be seen where the Toile De Jouy patterned shirts were hand-painted by a kimono craftsman from Japan.
The designs for this collection also referenced older styles we've seen from Dior previously. This includes Dior's iconic newspaper print, which was first introduced by John Galliano at the Dior Spring/Summer 2000 collection. Kim Jones has revamped the print, which could be found on shirts, Saddle bags and more.
Jones also brought back some beloved designs from his recent Dior collections: the Dior Tailleur Oblique coats and draped volant sashes, from Spring 2019 and Fall 2019 respectively. from Jones' SS2019 show and draped volant sashes from the AW2019/2020 show. Other classics like the Dior Saddle Bag also got a refreshed new look, and its iconic shape was used as storm-flaps on coats.
Meanwhile, Arsham had a hand in designing some of the pieces in the collection. For example, his Future Relics collection inspired the creation of the faux cracked shirt. Looks were finished with jewellery designed by Yoon Ahn.
Finally, a big part of the show was the maison's new collaboration with luggage brand Rimowa. This collaboration brings us a backpack, champagne case, hand case, clutch and cabin suitcase. The new line features both the aluminium grooves that are synonymous with Rimowa luggages, as well as the Dior Oblique motif. The bags have a durable and lasting design through the use of a mix of anodising processes to print lasting pigments onto the bag's surface.
