Mood board: The S/S 2019 season is jam-packed with firsts. Simon Porte Jacquemus will launch his men’s collection with a show in Marseille, Virgil Abloh presented his debut at Louis Vuitton and Kim Jones unveiled his vision for Maison Dior. Journalists who had seen a preview waxed lyrical about Jones’s hi-res haute, with floral patterns drawn from Dior’s personal porcelain, and feather embroideries by Maison Lemarié overlaid in vinyl to look like glazed china. The toile de jouy chosen for the original boutique at 30 Avenue Montaigne is resurrected as a new logo. Jones spent seven years at Louis Vuitton nurturing a smart, sports-lux approach, making sophisticated elegant clothes in the finest textiles. At Dior he has set the bar even higher, ramping up the richness, the mood and the metier.
Best in show: There’s a hunger for hardcore tailoring and bespoke detailing in the air. In episode one of Maison Margiela’s podcast: ‘The Memory of… With John Galliano’, the designer talks about a yearning for glamour ahead of his men’s Artisanal debut. Rei Kawakubo riffed on suits at Comme des Garçons; at Brioni, Nina-Maria Nitsche showed an exquisite double breasted jacket in vintage kimono fabrics that will be made to order. At last there is some resistance to the streetwear modus operandi. At Dior, a wrap-around jacket style pays homage to the silhouette of the brand’s A/W 1950 couture collection; shirts cowl at back to reveal the nape of the neck. The collection had a dialled down lightness and ease to balance the current mood for crisp, tailored perfection. Suiting was in light cashmere and summer mohair. Sheer pinstripe trousers were paired with repeat logo lace vests and monogram high-top sneakers.
Team work: American artist KAWS reinterpreted the brand’s classic bee motif which flitted across the collection; the show set featured a giant KAWS BFF figure constructed by Eric Chauvin using some 70,000 roses. Yoon of Ambush designed the jewellery using the iconic CD logo, flowers and insects. Matthew Williams of cult brand 1017 ALYX 9SM created a new metal buckle for the house, while longstanding Dior collaborator Stephen Jones crafted millinery based on original menswear styles in the archives.§
