Dior Fall Winter 2022-2023 Men. Celebrating Christian Dior and revisiting codes by Kim Jones. Review by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE.
Creative director of menswear of Christian Dior (and Fendi ready-to-wear and couture lines) fashion house Kim Jones celebrated with amazing grace anniversary of Christian Dior, who was born January 21 1905, and 75th anniversary of Dior Fashion house, as that was also the date of the first fashion show. Kim Jones started a “conversation” with Christian Dior, revisiting the codes.

That is actually a very remarkable event, as it’s been quiet a long time since Christian Dior house actually followed and respected the codes and DNA of this great and gracious designer. Only amazing talent of this designer can actually transfer codes from 1950s to 2020s.
The scenography of the runway show pays homage to Paris and its elegance. The runway was transformed into the Alexandre-III bridge, a symbolic bridge between Christian Dior and the House today.
“A dress is built, and it is built according to the direction of the fabrics, it is the secret of couture and it is a secret which depends on the first architectural law: that of obedience to gravity,” – said Christian Dior.
The press-release says that “the voice of Christian Dior resonates, letting his eternal aura hover over this reinvented Paris. The sky, in shades of grey-blue, a powerful evocation of grey Dior colour, and its various reinterpretations, gently lights up, while the Seine undulates, inviting you to take an unexpected stroll through the heart of the capital. As the changing glimmers of this new dawn seem to reflect on the moving silhouettes, the models move forward on the catwalk, celebrating the quintessence of the Dior spirit. A suspended moment, a parenthesis transcending space-time, whose fragrance is an ode to lily of the valley*, this lucky flower dear to Monsieur Dior, spring emblem of rebirth, the ultimate tribute to his heritage.”

The beautiful story of absolute elegance once again created by designer Kim Jones. Surprisingly Dior showed this season another HOT item – the Birkenstock Arizona shoes. This collaboration created so much interest and buzz, that phones couldn’t stop ringing with questions when these shoes will be in stock and will Birkenstock also have them in the stores.
This collaboration Dior x Birkenstock is quiet special one. Kim Jones recreated famous Tokio mules, first released by Birkenstock in 1987, and the Milano sandals, released in 1960s. Kim Jones decided to use soft Dior-grey felt and suede, the slip-ons come with rubber details and industrial buckles emulating the accents of the Dior Saddle bag.

Dior Fall Winter 2022-2023 Men Press-release
“A silhouette, silhouettes [which] appear and impose themselves more and more on the imagination. The sketches fix this work of the mind […], not like a static composition; no, they are silhouettes in motion.” Christian Dior

“I wanted to immerse myself in the archives, in the purity of the beginnings of the House, in its original impetus. We looked at the first collections and focused on the architecture, using these elements and transforming them almost instinctively into modern masculine pieces, always with this joie de vivre that is at the heart of Christian Dior’s creations.” Kim Jones
A winter morning in Paris, on the Alexandre-III bridge… As the light changes, silhouettes emerge, in motion, reflecting the colors of the sky and the passage of time, the story of Christian Dior – the House and men – and that of Kim Jones, Artistic Director of Dior’s men’s collections.

The looks reflect the movement of time and the continuum of the designers who link the past, the present and the future of the House; from feminine to masculine, from flower-woman to flower-man, a living history in perpetual motion, a tribute to heritage. The scent of lily of the valley fills the air, a symbolic and timeless bridge between nature and culture, love and luck so dear to Dior.
On February 12, 1947, Christian Dior presented his first collection; his New Look changed fashion forever. In this year of the 75th anniversary of the house of Dior, Kim Jones engages, this season, a supreme conversation and collaboration with Christian Dior himself. Here, the stories of the two men intertwine: from the shades of gray and pastels to the meeting of the British masculine tailor and the French haute couture tailor through the new raw and masculine silhouette of the Bar jacket.

Everything is unified, in a striking and natural way, by the timeless savoir-faire of the French ateliers, from the exuberance of the embroidery, inspired by the archives – deployed in a surprising way, with a luxurious insouciance – to the contemporary sportswear and technical materials. for outerwear worked in an unexpectedly formal and elegant sense. Each piece combines practicality, formal and informal, and embodies a story that comes to life for an easy and contemporary daily life, without ever losing sight of its essential joie de vivre.

Monsieur Dior’s emblematic signs and symbols proliferate throughout the collection: the star, the rose, the cane, the leopard, the lily of the valley and the chain link the past to the present, particularly through the jewellery. Here, the diamond and emerald chain bracelet by Victoire de Castellane is joined by the extravagances of Yoon Ahn in a new masculine decorative approach.

This unexpected accessorization continues on the bejeweled derbies, contrasting with the more utilitarian DIOR by BIRKENSTOCK sandals – a new collaboration this season. The bags also explore the tension between the practical and the ornamental; the Saddle bag is joined by the new Dior Corolle Tote and a more structured vertical clutch , while playfulness and precision are celebrated by Stephen Jones’ hats, notably his revisited version of the men’s beret, the Doris model . Stephen Jones is also celebrating an important anniversary: twenty-five years as the designer of the Maison’s hats; it also represents this link between the past, present and future of Dior.