Men’s Fashion Week: Dior Men Spring/Summer 2021 Collection
A stunning fusion of florals, neon and Amoako’s mesmerising paintings.
Photo: Oscar Chang Anderson/Dior Men
Having spent his childhood across Africa, the continent’s cultures and visual language have always played a part in Kim Jones’ work. This season he brings that influence to the fore with an artistic collaboration with Ghanaian painter, Amoako Boafo, whose vivid portraits of Blackness inspired the collection’s brilliant palette and botanical prints.
In a remarkable feat, the Dior ateliers even managed to transplant a couple of Boafo’s paintings onto the garments—with embroidery painstakingly made to mimic the artist’s rich finger-painted textures. The tenderness Boafo captures so well was translated into delicately embroidered tops, slouchy ribbed knits, fuzzy rollnecks, graceful bows at the throat, and the curved lines of midcentury couture.
The silhouettes were classic Jones—a desirable mix of streamlined sportswear and the couture tailoring he has made his Dior Men hallmark, with a standout being the shorts-and-cummerbund combos.
Chris Cunningham (he directed Björk's All is Full of Love video and Madonna's Frozen) and award-winning photographer Jackie Nickerson worked on the two-part film that showcased this collection, with footage of Boafo and his friends in Ghana juxtaposed against clips of Jones and his models in London. It sits in striking contrast with the pallid fantasy Jones’ womenswear counterpart served up for couture last week.
Click through the gallery to see the collection:
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