Dior debuted its Fall/Winter 2021 menswear collection last week, celebrating the ceremony of the everyday for the upcoming season. Featuring a collaboration with the artist Peter Doig, the house embraced Christian Dior’s ideology that clothing is a ceremony in itself, posing a wardrobe of extravagance for the modern man’s daily life.
© Adrien Dirand, courtesy of Dior.
Presented digitally, the runway took on the form of an art installation, which was conceived by Doig. A backdrop of deep blue, star-filled skies laid the way for large, boxy sound systems, which alluded to the artist’s paintings like the 2015 Speaker/Girl. Models paraded in front of the giant constructions to a driving soundtrack before ascending a catwalk that ran the length of the celestial atmosphere.
Dior Men’s Creative Director Kim Jones drew inspiration from the Académie des Beaux-Arts infused with elements taken from the house’s couture archives—like covered buttons specific to the Bar jacket and gilded embroidery from Marc Bohan’s 1960s Rosella gown. Ranging from suiting to casual matching sets, the looks each upheld a certain majestic quality, reinforced by elements like long overcoats, berets and bowler hats, and the iconic saddle bags slung over the shoulder.
© Adrien Dirand, courtesy of Dior.
Reaching much further than the show space, Doig’s collaboration was all-encompassing. The collection’s palette was chosen in reference to the Scottish-born artist’s work in muted blues, gray, navy, yellow, blood orange, and green. References to clothing worn by Doig’s subjects and visual motifs—in particular, a recurring starry visual from the 1990 Milky Way—could be found in prints and looks. The artist’s imagery appeared on hats, belt buckles, and entire garments as though they were meant to be canvases—bound and piped in embellished hems and baroque embroidery, reminiscent of framing.
There were marching band jackets fitted loosely over pants with a stripe down the side and looks with an equestrian feeling, including pressed trousers, riding boots, printed button-ups, and duster coats with subtly ornamental details. Knitwear was utilized to recreate imagery from Doig’s watercolors, like a fuzzy red and yellow mohair sweater with a lion on the front and a similar style in hues of white and green.
Courtesy of Dior.
Looks we’re still thinking about include a black pants-and-jacket pairing with stars as buttons, styled with a jacquard overcoat and a beret; a militant button-up in white worn with trousers, silky sneakers, and a sunny-hued zip-up jacket elevated through details like an embroidered lining peeking out from the edges; and a look in shades of blue composed of pressed trousers, a shirt with covered buttons, and a printed coat with ghostly silhouettes taken from Doig’s oeuvre.
Courtesy of Dior.
Courtesy of Dior.
