Past and present were perfectly married at the Dior Men’s Autumn 2023 show. The French fashion brand’s epic menswear collection reveal took place Saturday, December 3rd, at the Giza pyramid complex in Egypt–a location regarded as one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. The collection wasn’t designed to mimic styles of the past, but to create a future inspired by it. Using the ancient pyramids as a backdrop was the tip of the iceberg for the show and the collection, which was created by Dior Men’s artistic director Kim Jones. Ahead, some of the things you might have missed from the historic fashion event.
Dune-Inspired Looks
Futuristic fashion-filled Dior Men’s Autumn 2023 collection, with padded moon boots and helmets featured throughout. The sandy, earth-toned looks rendered in amoresque silhouettes bore semblance to the on-screen fashion featured in the 2021 science-fiction blockbuster Dune, which was known for its elegant and neutral-hued battle gear.
galaxy prints, courtesy of NASA
The 75 looks in the collection were strategically doled out to viewers in a way that mirrors nature, with looks created in bright colourways to invoke daytime featured first, then darker shades mixed with reds to mimic the setting sun, and finally, celestial prints. The cosmic clothing showcased toward the show’s finale was created using stills captured by NASA‘s space telescopes–marrying the sky with the Earth at the show’s epic location.
star-studded red carpet
Dior’s celestially-inspired show was, naturally, a star-studded one. The French fashion brand was joined by supermodels like Naomi Campbell, brand ambassador and K-pop idol Sehun, and celebrities like Robert Pattinson. The actor made headlines during the event for his red carpet relationship debut with English model and singer Suki Waterhouse.
tributes to Mr. Dior
Kim Jones, the artistic director of Dior Men’s, paid homage to Christian Dior throughout the show, with 75 looks created for the 75 years of Dior. Fans of the fashion house were quick to point out Jones’s reference to Mr. Dior’s love for astrology in the collection’s cosmic prints and that the location of the show nodded to one of Dior’s early creations: the “Cairo” gown.
artist statement by Kim jones
When asked about the location, Jones shared that his “interest in ancient Egypt is about the stars and the sky.” He noted that symbols of the past, such as stars or the pyramids, anchor us to the present and inform how we will progress. “In both the collection and the show, there is an idea of ‘guided by the stars’ and what that can entail in many ways,” shared the artistic director, “it’s about how the past shapes the future or an idea of the future from the past.”
