J Balvin is a Fashion Week regular at this point, a front row staple at basically every runway show. Sometimes he even performs at them! Balvin's so comfortable at these things that he took Highsnobiety backstage at Dior's Fall/Winter 2023 presentation for some candids with creative director Kim Jones, just because he can.

Fall/Winter 2023 was quintessential Kim Jones Dior. It smacked of the Fall/Winter 2020 collection in terms of moody set and elegantly muted tailoring but Dior FW23 eschewed the house's seasonal artistic collaborator to instead focus on itself.

"I loved the show," J Balvin told Highsnobiety. "The poetry was pretty, it felt romantic. I was really focused on the looks, though, of course. Every little detail was amazing."

There were ample references to the designs of Yves Saint Laurent, for instance, who took over Dior after founder Christian Dior died in 1957. You could see that in the clean lines and supple textiles, but you could also see progress in the contemporary touches. 3D-printed shoes, leopard-printed silk shirts, that sort of thing.

It's all terribly J Balvin, isn't it? The insouciant ease, the explosive accents?

Of course it is, hence why a rainbow-coiffed J Balvin cozied up to Jones backstage, wearing a pair of shorts so wide that they may as well have been a skirt (another Dior's FW23 motif).

"I have a good connection with Kim Jones," Balvin continued. "I love him because he's a humble guy, great guy, and he deserves all of his success."

The show itself was all about softness, despite the existential weight imparted by T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land — videos of actors Robert Pattinson and Gwendoline Christie reading the poem played in the background of the Dior FW23 runway while models showed off the new goods.

Plush, padded vests, bubbly knit sweaters, brushed cardigans, soft-shoulder wool suits, and fleece bombers offset the Dior show's moody lighting and theme, while technical accents — pullcords at the elbows of blazers, puffy gilets, cargo-pocketed field jackets — reminds one that Jones is dressing his dudes to stylishly survive the apocalypse.

It's survivalism gone luxe as weatherproof bucket hats, rain slickers, aran sweaters, and muddin' boots are reimagined as exquisite statement pieces worth splurging on.

Delicate knits decorated with three-dimensional trees and repeated CD Diamond logos are some of the fancier stuff on display, though the earthy color palette (note the glistening green leather bags) is intended to literally ground the affair in line with the nature motifs mentioned by Eliot's poem.

J Balvin would wear it all, naturally, and you can likely expect to see plenty of Dior on him in coming months, styled in his typical joie-de-vivre way.

What To Read Next

  • Image on Highsnobiety

    At Watches & Wonders, IWC's Ingenieur Automatic 40 Made Quite the Entrance

  • Image on Highsnobiety

    Here Are Some Of The Best Online Shops For Men

    Style
  • Image on Highsnobiety

    Rolex's 2023 Watches Are a Sight to Behold

  • Image on Highsnobiety

    Exhausted Your Netflix’s Docuseries Supply? Here Are The 18 Best Documentaries on Youtube

    Culture
  • chance the rappe best songs 10 Day Acid Rap Chance the Rapper

    The 22 Best Chance the Rapper Songs

    Culture
  • Image on Highsnobiety

    Finally, Fear of God & adidas' Sneakers Are Incoming

    Sneakers
*If you submitted your e-mail address and placed an order, we may use your e-mail address to inform you regularly about similar products without prior explicit consent. You can object to the use of your e-mail address for this purpose at any time without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs. Each newsletter contains an unsubscribe link. Alternatively, you can object to receiving the newsletter at any time by sending an e-mail to info@highsnobiety.com

Web Accessibility Statement

Titelmedia (Highsnobiety), is committed to facilitating and improving the accessibility and usability of its Website, www.highsnobiety.com. Titelmedia strives to ensure that its Website services and content are accessible to persons with disabilities including users of screen reader technology. To accomplish this, Titelmedia has engaged UsableNet Inc, a leading web accessibility consultant to help test, remediate and maintain our Website in-line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which also bring the Website into conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Disclaimer

Please be aware that our efforts to maintain accessibility and usability are ongoing. While we strive to make the Website as accessible as possible some issues can be encountered by different assistive technology as the range of assistive technology is wide and varied.

Contact Us

If, at any time, you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of any particular webpage on this Website, please contact us at accessibility@highsnobiety.com, +49 (0)30 235 908 500. If you do encounter an accessibility issue, please be sure to specify the web page and nature of the issue in your email and/or phone call, and we will make all reasonable efforts to make that page or the information contained therein accessible for you.