RELYING ALSO ON THE RESEARCH AND DNA OF HIS RESPECTIVE HOUSE WAS KIM JONES. THE DIOR MEN AND NEWLY ANOINTED FENDI WOMEN’S CREATIVE DIRECTOR IS A SOURCE OF EXCITEMENT FOR MANY AT THE MOMENT.
Amidst all the hype of his fast approaching Wednesday women’s debut though, Jones is calm, collected, and sticking to past personal recipes for success. One such ingredient is his commitment to artistic collaboration, this time calling on Scottish painter Peter Doig. Autobiographical elements of Doig’s paintings titled “Spearfishing,” “Rain in The Port of Spain,” and “Two Trees” are generously sprinkled throughout, most notably through the orange color choice of overcoats, a knitted lion, various paint-dabbed patterns, and yellow anoraks.
At first glance the combination of suave tailcoats, black rubber wellies, and abstracted maroon camo prints meshed with Doig’s touch may look merely military inspired. However, Jones’ theme for this Men’s Fall/Winter 2021 season was actually influenced by French artists and Marc Bohan’s tenure at Dior. The ceremonial dress required of French creatives inducted into the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris was in fact a tail coat. The eye-catching buttons you thought were upcycled from an ex-navy uniform? Those were actually adapted from a Haute Couture dress designed by Bohan, creative director of Christian Dior in the 1960s.
