Kim Jones presents the Men's Fall 2021 collection in Paris. Inspired by pop culture, science fiction, cartoons, and surrealism, artist Kenny Scharf and Kim Jones collaborated on a series of prints and embroideries seen in the collection, below. The show was high energy as the collection walked against a celestial LED back drop.
The tailoring was slick and sporty – a signature that Mr. Kim Jones defined at Louis Vuitton and has now continued at Dior. Balancing commercial elements with artistic freedom is a core challenge for luxury houses today which is something Jones does with ease. While we ourselves devoted an entire issue this year to psychedelic freedom and escape, this collection left something more to be desired. At times, Scharf's playful art seemed to fight against Jones' minimalist designs and at others it was an afterthought. The muted palette full of autumnal brown, navy, and grey didn't help either.
There were, however, quite a few memorable looks that we loved. The trompe l'oeil 3D sweaters of a funky goat and tiger were a lot of fun as were a few of the anthromorphic shirts and accessories that featured Scharf's artwork. We also get behind the blood red safari jacket which stood apart from the rest of the collection.
While it goes without saying that this collection wasn't Jones' strongest showing, we are in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic which certainly makes the design process and collaborations a lot more challenging.
Have a look at the full collection and runway film, below, courtesy of Dior.
