You can typically count on Kim Jones' Dior for a few things. Clean, urbane tailoring, for one, functional accessories — sometimes contributed by 1019 ALYX 9SM founder Matthew M. Williams — for another. But artist collaborations? No longer the norm.
It's a pretty big evolution from the early days of Jones' Dior, when the clothes used to play second fiddle to team-ups with big, marketable names like KAWS and Daniel Arsham.
Perhaps Jones and his team feel strongly enough about their collections' own merits to let them live on their own, or perhaps they don't see the need to continue bringing in artists to boost Dior's visibility now that Jones' vision for the label is pretty well established (or maybe that one Travis Scott moment was a lesson learned).
Point being, Dior no longer leans on a high-profile partner to give its menswear collection extra shine.
Sure, there are still world-famous Dior Homme ambassadors who lend their names and faces to Jones' collections and Dior continues to dabble in team-ups with designers like Denim Tears founder Tremaine Emory and ERL's Eli Russell Linnetz, but the focus is now wholly on Dior itself. Oh, and the occasional Birkenstock collaboration, but mostly Dior itself.
Dior Spring 2024 is all about deconstructed menswear codes, norms that Jones describes in a press release as male style "archetypes": military, preppy, workwear, business wear, jock, smart, casual.
The mix n' match approach that Jones takes in eroding the lines dividing each element is nothing new — he's long paired rugged trek gear with half-skirts and figure-obscuring sweaters — but he cites Buffalo founder Ray Petri as a core inspiration.
Petri was a massively influential British stylist who upset fashion codes in the name of progress, inclusivity, experimentation, and adventure.
Alongside peers like House of Beauty and Culture members Christopher Nemeth and Judy Blame — two other major influences on Kim Jones' work at both Dior and Louis Vuitton — Petri shredded menswear tropes and rearranged them as he saw fit, like a wearable ode to William Burroughs' cut-ups.
Unlike Burroughs, though, Petri's art wasn't random. Even at their most chaotic, his outfits were juxtaposed with purpose.
Kim Jones' Dior now embodies a similar sense of purpose. The clothes are so intentional that the big-name collaborative boost is simply no longer needed.
Not that Jones is done with collaborations, not by a long shot. Just that they're less of a routine and more of an occasional treat.
