A FORCE IN FASHION

Designer Kim Jones has amassed a streetwear archive, reinvigorated the suit, and engineered an array of legendary collaborations. Augustman Malaysia was given the chance to speak to the man himself about his inspiration and creative process behind Dior Men’s Summer 2023 show

- MELISSA FOONG

WHEN KIM JONES appeared in the fashion scene in the early 2000s, he offered himself as the synthesis of all of men’s fashion history; someone with the ability to marry luxury to subculture, flamboyance to uniform. He could see a place where all these diverse and different aspects of men’s fashion made sense together, and manifested it. Over the twenty years since, he has subtly and powerfully evolved and defined the way men dress while totally changing the wider culture both around men’s fashion specifically, and luxury fashion in general. Now, he is considered one of today’s most quintessentially contemporary designers, armed with a holistic global vision, an innate understanding of what makes a fashion “moment”.

Dior Men’s Summer 2023 show was said to be every gardener’s dream, with Jones paying tribute to Monsieur Dior’s passion for nature by reimagining the designer’s childhood home in Granville, Normandy as the show’s setting. Not only paying homage to the French founder, Jones celebrated Bloomsbury set painter Duncan Grant by placing some elements of his work on fleece sweaters and embroidered them on sheer tops for a playful effect. This goes to show that there is no hesitation that Kim Jones’ appreciation for art is equivalent to his dedication to fashion.