Dior x Stone Island is the sort of thing that only coulda come from the man behind Dior x Jordan Brand. Kim Jones, Dior creative director and the man himself, tells Highsnobiety that "it felt quite natural to do this collaboration."
It makes sense: Dior and Stone Island are both long-established houses similarly steeped in their own heritages. But, also, Christion Dior and Massimo Osti, founders of the respective labels, were themselves craftsman in search of peerless savoir faire.
Had their paths ever crossed, and had a similar zeal for inter-genre partnership existed in the 20th century, perhaps a Dior x Stone Island collaboration would've happened decades sooner.
“The Dior and Stone Island capsule collection is a meeting between Mr. Dior and Massimo Osti," Jones explains. "They both were ‘obsessives’ and the archives of the brands are amazing. It is a mix from an haute couture vision to that of military functionality."
They might've even designed the resulting Dior x Stone Island clothes, shoes, and accessories that're set to release likely by mid-2024 (Dior did not provide a specific release date or prices, though expect the latter to be in line with Dior ready-to-wear).
The offering, exclusively revealed here by Highsnobiety, pulls as much from each labels' design heritage as it does from the mind of Jones, himself a key player in eroding the lines between "streetwear" and "luxury" (ahem, Louis Vuitton x Supreme).
In a press release, Dior describes the "use of noble materials" as a tangible throughline connecting the worlds of Dior and Stone Island.
That means exquisite handcraft sweetened by artisanal color experimentation, like Dior's signature embroidery treated with Stone Island's inimitable garment-dye techniques and jackets made of a cotton-silk version of Stone Island's signature Raso Gommato (polyurethane-coated satin-woven cotton inspired by retro militaria) and patched with leather, instead of rubber.
Inside the sturdy, sumptuous jackets, quilted lining integrated with Dior's Cannage stitching and Stone Island's compass rose.
Outside, the badge, Stone Island's consummate brand icon, is realized in silk and again stitched with Cannage. Above each removable totem to good taste, embroidered Dior branding.
Specific homages deserving of self-described "obsessives" abound: double pleats are both a reference to Stone Island's darted military pants and Dior's Spring/Summer 1952 haute couture collection, for instance.
And the colors may as well be a reference to Christian Dior's beloved gardents. The Dior x Stone Island collection explodes with vivacious shades created through science, ingenuity, and unabashed love for the process. Dior calls it the "alchemy of color," us layfolks may call it "wearable art."
Vivacious yellow coats and rose-hued knitwear lend flash to the otherwise typically sober neutral navies and greys core to both Dior and Stone Island.
Beyond the brilliant tones, it's all in the details.
Cargo-pocketed vests call back to both Stone Island's functional wardrobe and Dior's three-piece tailoring. Faded denim trousers are simultaneously an homage to Stone Island utilitarianism and the unbothered Dior man of Kim Jones (Kim Stones?).
Dior's preferred derbies and lace-up boots now speak to Stone Island codes, incorporating cotton sateen typically utilized for jackets and trousers or triple-molded soles that recall climbing shoes.
Leather shoulder bags in the shape of the Stone Island compass rose are — well, they're just cool.
Actually, speaking of bags, the crown jewel of the Stone Island x Dior collection — as if the entire offering isn't itself an embarrassment of riches — is a case.
Specifically, there's a Dior x Stone Island leather trunk that again allows Jones to flex his collaborative strength and cultural know-how.
He knows that ardent Stone Island exists and he knows that the mere sight of this thing will render them slack-jawed, eyes popping out of their heads.
Created in partnership with Sennelier, the centuries-old art company that sold paints to Picasso, Van Gogh, and Cézanne, the precious Dior x Stone Island case layers hand-applied watercolors, temperas, gouache, and ink to illustrate Stone Island's compass rose in staggeringly fluid illustrative form.
This trunk "is a generational project," Dior explains in a press release, "featuring many hours of work. [It] encompasses the idea of traditional maroquinerie, new savoir-faire and contemporary high functionality, all that defines Dior Men today."
In that way, so does Stone Island x Dior.
