Pack your bags because we’re going to Egypt! We wish we’d wake up one day with that message, don’t you? That hasn’t happened to us, but we do know some people who do, like the guests at the latest Dior show, which took place in the legendary pyramids of Giza.
In a dream location, Kim Jones – the current creative director of Dior Men – presented his latest Fall 2023 proposal, which is part of the continuity of the past, present, and future at Dior. Nothing could go wrong, especially being in such a place, which the British designer has always been interested in: “My interest in ancient Egypt is about the stars and the sky. It’s that fascination with the ancient world and the parallels with what we look at today; what we inherited from them and what we are still learning from the past. It links to Christian Dior in that sense and by the way of his fascination with symbols and superstitions that recur throughout his life and work, one of which is the star. In both the collection and the show there is an idea of “guided by the stars” and what that can entail in many ways. It’s about how the past shapes the future or an idea of the future from the past”.
An autumn evening in Giza will mark a before and after in fashion history, as it has hosted such a show for the first time. The sun sets and the light changes, and as all this happens, the silhouettes of the desert begin to emerge, which in the movement are even more interesting for their fluidity. They reflect the colors of the sky, the landscape, and the passage of time. Night falls and with it comes the stars – a symbol of the house of fashion and tradition – and it is time to make way for the Fall 23 collection, and to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Mr. Dior’s first collection and the “new look” that he patented and revolutionized fashion.
As we move into the line, we see how a gradation of greys gives way to a desert palette, ranging from daytime to dusk, striking with hints of a fiery sunset. Underlying it all are the principles and rigor of the Dior archive of the past and the men’s atelier of the present, with a practical approach to pattern cutting. In short, the collection absorbs the lessons of history and applies them to the present and the future, where there is a metamorphosis, in terms of tailoring, from feminine to masculine, and a marriage of haute couture finishes with technical practicality in the outerwear – some in the form of stripes, with all-enveloping protection achieved by all. Garments are layered with texture; archival embroidery takes on a notion of the futuristic armory, and leather pieces reinterpret luxury in a new organic utility.
One piece that particularly caught the eye of those present was the new wool demi-kilts, which have their origins in the bias-pleated skirt of a 1950s Dior archive dress called “Bonne Fortune” – at once a nod to this oldest of men’s garments and part of a new technical language as a garment.
Regarding footwear, it flirts with futurism, but not without a basis in traditional savoir-faire combined with excellence in contemporary know-how. In short, extravagance is achieved easily and pragmatically. For their part, the bags, an essential part of the brand, are united by working with cannage and diamond codes in a mix of contemporary techniques and textures, from high-frequency neoprene panels and injection molding to anodized metal finishes.
Take a look at the collection below:
