“The cycle of a fashion house is about regeneration and rejuvenation, just like the cycle of fashion itself. There is always something of the past in the present and future and Dior is no different. In this Men Winter 2023-2024 collection, we wanted to look at the regeneration of the house after the death of Mr Dior, and its rejuvenation with Mr Saint Laurent – his chosen heir – drawing a parallel in literature, through imagery and themes in The Waste Land. It’s where an old world meets a new one, in change and in flux.” Kim Jones
At times garments are taken directly from the archive, transposed and transformed: the sailor top from Mr Saint Laurent’s ‘Paris’ ensemble is loosened in cavalry twill and also becomes an elongated fisherman’s smock; the off-the-shoulder tailoring of ‘Acacias’ adapted with slouching insouciance for masculine wool suiting, part of a new recurring silhouette and ensemble; the ‘Passe Partout’ coat with its loosely tied neck now cocoons in a new slubbed, Donegal tweed with the addition of zipped open sleeves. At the same time, the traditional vernacular language of knits is subverted through a sculptural approach to styling and draping together with a melding of tailoring. In counterpoint, startlingly new pieces such as 3D printed shoes and boots, and archetypal sea-faring utilitarian outerwear extend the reach of the house’s savoir-faire to an unprecedented contemporary level. Meanwhile, bags primarily take on an idea of discretion, elegance and precision, stripped of extraneous elements with a box construction in Vernis – an echo of Mr Saint Laurent’s striving for modern simplification.
