Dior’s Daliance With The World Of Dance Is Personal
Review of Dior Fall 2024 Men’s Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Standing head and shoulders above his competition, Dior’s Kim Jones knows how to elevate the show format, in this case quite literally raising the bar on how to present a collection and its finale. Set in a purpose-built show-space the collection was presented in the round. But unbeknownst to onlookers the runway hid a mechanical platform at its centre which would transfigure it akin to a magicians greatest trick.
Fashion as art, fashion as performance art, Jones often finds new ways to intersect the tenable links between the two each season. For fall 2024 it was the direct familial link of his uncle, who was a ballet dancer for The Royal Ballet School, before turning to the medium of photography, which led him, in 1966, to a commission to document a day in the life of arguably one of the world’s greatest ballet dancers Rudolf Nureyev. Of which, the resulting photographic journal (commissioned by Time Life) was gifted as a keepsake book to guests who attended todays show.
In the artistic directors hands, there was a sense that, for fall, he was dressing his customer from a different era, one where artists and philosophers and thinkers met in salons and frequented the opera in their leisure time. Opulent jacquards and intricate embroidery accompanied dramatic capes, long sashes accented fluid wide-leg trousers, and couture-level embellishment on a mini tunic was an enticing invitation to channel the principal dancer within, seeing as the look was styled with ballet-style tights, ballet flats and headband. There were also options for those wishing to dabble in a little decadence channelled through a more standardised silhouette, in a lurex mesh tank with decorative pearls paired with fluid wrap-front pants. Seemingly presented as atypical menswear, A-line shorts (a hard sell in winter with temperatures at -3 degrees), zip-front jumpsuits and button-up jackets that reference Rudolf Nureyev personal wardrobe as documented in the show gift, and exotic-skin outer layers, all hint to an underlying transition towards something altogether more directional in the world of masculine styling.
In homage to his uncle, who served as today’s main source of inspiration, the ballet shoe was reworked in leather and satin (some with the geometric cannage pattern as a jacquard), black, cream, brown, and hot pink colourways. Occupying the white space between sneaker, slide, and slipper, the ballet flat (for men) is slowly making a tentative appearance on the red carpet, and in the closets of forward-thinking mavericks. But leave it to Jones to fully endorse a new casual choice for men – sans bow, in favour of the minimalist elastic strap for commercial appeal. They (the ballet flats) could be the ones to change the game after a prolonged period of chunky cleated soles and retro runners.
THE BUZZWORDS
On Pointe, overstated elegance, rich neutrality, bling empire, poetry in motion
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #41
The “Theatricality of Couture” (intricate embellishment) and the spirit of the ballet (white tights and ballet pumps) make for a highly expressive interpretation of choreographed creativity, in memory of the artistic directors uncle, Colin Jones.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
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The Dior Winter 2024-2025 men’s show is dedicated in memory of Colin [Jones]…my late uncle, a ballet dancer turned photographer, whose images chronicled the social history of the second half of the 20th Century, was both rebellious and highly creative.
Kim Jones, Artistic Director, Dior Men
THE WRAP UP
The fashion week loop can often cause shows to blur into one another, that is until a designer really puts on a show that causes editors to turn to their seat mates and smile in satisfaction that what they have witnessed was in fact a reaffirmation of why they love the fanfare of fashion. Though it may seem, at times, a frivolous pursuit, it will always remain one of the few places to experience true wonderment. And for today’s production, an oscillating circular stage which proceeded to rise up from the ground, elevating half the shows models with it, so they were almost at eye-level with those sitting atop the tiered seating, was a masterful use of set design. Delighting the audience with this unexpected feat of mechanical magic, Jones created an unconventional way to experience his collection, akin to that of a major retrospective or a theatre in-the-round, which is fit for the ballet.
