Kim Jones - Designer, Creative Director of Dior Men

[reesewu]

Some time back someone brought the rumour over here that Mary was in talks to take over Fendi. That must've happened in the early stages.
Not sure what would be worse though. Kim Jones Fendi couture or Mary doing couture for both Dior and Fendi.

I can totally see this happening. MGC's appointment will then be hailed as a return to her Italian roots. I honestly don't see anything promising coming from Fashion this decade. The only good things are arguably the Japanese vets in Paris (Yohji, Rei, and Junya) and Dries.

 

[grimm]

The worst thing about the whole debacle is that the picture of him looks like he has his penis hanging out!

 

[WAVES]

The worst thing about the whole debacle is that the picture of him looks like he has his penis hanging out!

DEAD

 

[dodencebt]

The worst thing about the whole debacle is that the picture of him looks like he has his penis hanging out!

OHMYGOD

 

[San Marco]

Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that someone who designed for Umbro more than a decade ago, would be the chief designer of two fashion houses, and nothing less than Dior&Fendi.

What a career turnaround.

Also, a good reminder of how little talent means for a long-term successful career in fashion.

 

[Lola701]

Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that someone who designed for Umbro more than a decade ago, would be the chief designer of two fashion houses, and nothing less than Dior&Fendi.

What a career turnaround.

Also, a good reminder of how little talent means for a long-term successful career in fashion.

The most important thing in fashion at that high level is to know people and to take every opportunity! You can have all the talent you want but if you don’t have the right people with you, nothing is going to happen!

Some may not like the evolution of his aesthetic but when Marc suggested him for the job at Vuitton, it was in part because what he did at Dunhill was great but also because his London-crowd knew him.

What he did with Vuitton menswear was almost a miracle from a economic POV and it’s only fair that they presents him opportunities!

I may not like the overall creative direction at LVMH at least, as a corporate, there’s a consideration for the people who performs (even if some favorites who doesn’t perform are still in good grace).

And let’s be honest, a lot of talented designers don’t want to work for such a big conglomerate. It’s a lot to take in and also some compromises in terms of creation (Nicolas who never played with a logo in his career has to now because it sells).

 

[San Marco]

The most important thing in fashion at that high level is to know people and to take every opportunity! You can have all the talent you want but if you don’t have the right people with you, nothing is going to happen!

Some may not like the evolution of his aesthetic but when Marc suggested him for the job at Vuitton, it was in part because what he did at Dunhill was great but also because his London-crowd knew him.

What he did with Vuitton menswear was almost a miracle from a economic POV and it’s only fair that they presents him opportunities!

I may not like the overall creative direction at LVMH at least, as a corporate, there’s a consideration for the people who performs (even if some favorites who doesn’t perform are still in good grace).

And let’s be honest, a lot of talented designers don’t want to work for such a big conglomerate. It’s a lot to take in and also some compromises in terms of creation (Nicolas who never played with a logo in his career has to now because it sells).

Well...I agree with you. Completely!!!

Especially with the first and last paragraph.

I didn’t mean, that he came undeservedly to that place, because he obviously deserved his place.

My observation was more about how much talent really isn’t a crucial factor for success in anything. While I was writing it, I was thinking of some friends from my college, who were really good, but somehow they stayed on the road with that very talent, and not too much happend. Of course that is not the rule.
So many things play a role, and you gave good examples!

He obviously brings coins to his company. Because surely no one would keep him let alone give him extra job opportunities, if he wasnt good at his job.

It seems that LVMH currently has an employment pattern...from him to MGC to KVA...it seems that such designers are currently suitable for them, and anything that smells on “talent” is bypassed in a wide circle. The entire LVMH lineup is kinda corporate and soulless. But that’s what works right now. And why, not!

The only thing that is “unknown x” to me, throughout his “success story” is who actually buys his stuff. I have never bought a single piece, nor have I ever wanted to, nor do I know anyone to buy it, and even if he gave it to me for free I really wouldn’t know what to do with it, because it’s totally impractical.

 

[Lola701]

It seems that LVMH currently has an employment pattern...from him to MGC to KVA...it seems that such designers are currently suitable for them, and anything that smells on “talent” is bypassed in a wide circle. The entire LVMH lineup is kinda corporate and soulless. But that’s what works right now. And why, not!

The only thing that is “unknown x” to me, throughout his “success story” is who actually buys his stuff. I have never bought a single piece, nor have I ever wanted to, nor do I know anyone to buy it, and even if he gave it to me for free I really wouldn’t know what to do with it, because it’s totally impractical.

We have to realize that there’s an evolution in those conglomerates. Talent and vision aren’t the only things necessary today to run a fashion business today. For years, it was « pure gamble » and it was gamble on talent... Mostly because Bernard Arnault did not come from fashion and for the most part relied on the advices of Anna, key editors or the press. Before, brands needed extremely talented designers who became creative directors whose visions carried businesses to the top. The Galliano debacle proved that brands are stronger no matter what. Dior did not experienced a loss when there was no creative leadership...Even when KVA took Dior Homme, there was a lot of criticism but the sales were still strong!

LVMH is a corporate and so KVA is a pure product of that. He was the assistant of Hedi, took Dior successfully and was rewarded with the trust of the Arnault. He is still in the company. All the others were mostly chose by Delphine (Nicolas, Raf, MGC, JWA...etc). Kim’s story is similar to KVA. He is rewarded!
There’s a culture at LVMH. There’s creative freedom but there’s also some kind of patronnage from Toledano, the CEOs and the Arnault.
I don’t think it’s totally soulless but it’s less flamboyant than Galliano, Simons, Tisci, Philo. The line-up of designers is not leading fashion, despite selling well.

Kim’s stuff is selling. I mean in France alone, his success couldn’t be more obvious! I remember the Hedi era and I think this is far more superior in terms of people buying. When Hedi was there, people had to connect with the vision and now, people just love the clothes and accessories! There are more people craving for Dior than Celine or Givenchy tbh.

 

[San Marco]

We have to realize that there’s an evolution in those conglomerates. Talent and vision aren’t the only things necessary today to run a fashion business today. For years, it was « pure gamble » and it was gamble on talent... Mostly because Bernard Arnault did not come from fashion and for the most part relied on the advices of Anna, key editors or the press. Before, brands needed extremely talented designers who became creative directors whose visions carried businesses to the top. The Galliano debacle proved that brands are stronger no matter what. Dior did not experienced a loss when there was no creative leadership...Even when KVA took Dior Homme, there was a lot of criticism but the sales were still strong!

LVMH is a corporate and so KVA is a pure product of that. He was the assistant of Hedi, took Dior successfully and was rewarded with the trust of the Arnault. He is still in the company. All the others were mostly chose by Delphine (Nicolas, Raf, MGC, JWA...etc). Kim’s story is similar to KVA. He is rewarded!
There’s a culture at LVMH. There’s creative freedom but there’s also some kind of patronnage from Toledano, the CEOs and the Arnault.
I don’t think it’s totally soulless but it’s less flamboyant than Galliano, Simons, Tisci, Philo. The line-up of designers is not leading fashion, despite selling well.

Kim’s stuff is selling. I mean in France alone, his success couldn’t be more obvious! I remember the Hedi era and I think this is far more superior in terms of people buying. When Hedi was there, people had to connect with the vision and now, people just love the clothes and accessories! There are more people craving for Dior than Celine or Givenchy tbh.

I also remember the time when Hedi was at the helm of Dior. It was total Hedimania time. You couldn’t get around him even if you did your Best. The likelihood of him jumping out of the most random magazine while sitting at the dentist was quite high. There have always been some articles about him, and even if not about himself, then there were always some “women buy his stuff more than men” stories, or in some connection with Karls Diet or the Babyshambles, and so on.

Even to „ordinary people“ he was somewhat recognizable, and after KL and TF the most famous face. And even now I could remember some of his collections, especially the last one. In the case of Kim Jones, even with the best of intentions, there is no chance I could remember what he last created, let alone five years ago. Nor does he have Star-Power like Hedi had. So I am always surprised by such things when I hear that it sells well (or that he sells even better than Hedi). Which again... doesn’t mean if I don’t see Dior on people around me, that they are underperfoming. Just something I m observing. All the time I was convinced that his collections only serve one purpose- to eventually sell a suit-white shirt-business shoes, and as an alternative to that a sweatshirt and a T-shirt with a large Dior logo. But I’ve always wondered how it’s possible to sell a suit or logo t-shirt without the very magic around the house or their designer. Well, I guess it is possible!

On the other hand, the only success that is more than obvious to me is that of their rivals.

The streets are flooded with Kering Products. Just on the example of footwear...they are just predominant. I mean ....the AM Oversized sneakers are literally on every corner. They are everywhere. If there were any sales statistics, it would come as no surprise, that they are the best-selling sneakers in this entire decade. Literally every third guy I know has a pair. They are followed by the ugliest sneakers ever made- Banenciaga Triple S, and equally ugly SL boots, etc. As for Dior, I see B01 sneakers here and there, but more a exception than the rule. And they are, if I remember correctly, related to Hedi.

For most of the guys I know, fashion is a afterthought... and most of them buy just to show off . But every time they buy something...they buy a product from the Kering Palette. Of course they are not aware that these are products from the same group. But the fact is that Kering’s marketing department is doing a masterful job in convincing people who have no interest in fashion to buy their stuff , and they have succeeded in something what other can only dream off. Something I don't really see with Dior despite the sounding name (Fendi is better at it).

 

[Aurimas]

Kim’s stuff is selling. I mean in France alone, his success couldn’t be more obvious! I remember the Hedi era and I think this is far more superior in terms of people buying. When Hedi was there, people had to connect with the vision and now, people just love the clothes and accessories! There are more people craving for Dior than Celine or Givenchy tbh.

Sorry for being a little bit off topic but was not actually it Yves Saint-Laurent who was quite a lot behind Hedi's Dior Homme? Some of the ideas explored at Dior Homme while Hedi was there just always seemed to me surprisingly (and suspiciously) too mature for designer of Hedi's age. For example, the cut of the clothes, the suits etc. Of course there were Dior archives, creative team and even Kris but it feels there might have been something more... Might Hedi's Dior Homme have been a way for Yves to kind of remember his young days in the house? After first collection Hedi even gave Saint-Laurent a kiss and he actually left the house shortly before Yves passed away. And since then Hedi's collections kind lack that Dior Homme's full glory.

 

[Lola701]

^^
TBH, YSL wasn’t that much behind Hedi than Pierre Bergé!
Pierre Bergé hired him (the same way he hired Alber) and it was Pierre Bergé idea to go Hedi’s debut show as a way to show to the world how displeased he was with Tom Ford. Tom showed his first womenswear collection in 2000 and his first menswear in 2001.

Tbh, YSL menswear didn’t have that much identity when Hedi took the job in the late 90’s. YSL himself only wore tailor-made suits by a Italian tailor i think...

During Hedi and Albee’s period at YSL, the campaigns were handled by Pierre Bergé (he was quite a good creative director I must say). I think Hedi’s influence was Helmut Lang, Agnes B and maybe APC...

Karl attended that Hedi first DH show (i think he was covering the backstage for V)
And decided to lose weight just after that. It gave an enormous publicity to Hedi...More than the « support » of Bergé/YSL. But ultimately, Bergé has always been a support to Hedi!

I also remember the time when Hedi was at the helm of Dior. It was total Hedimania time. You couldn’t get around him even if you did your Best. The likelihood of him jumping out of the most random magazine while sitting at the dentist was quite high. There have always been some articles about him, and even if not about himself, then there were always some “women buy his stuff more than men” stories, or in some connection with Karls Diet or the Babyshambles, and so on.

Even to „ordinary people“ he was somewhat recognizable, and after KL and TF the most famous face. And even now I could remember some of his collections, especially the last one. In the case of Kim Jones, even with the best of intentions, there is no chance I could remember what he last created, let alone five years ago. Nor does he have Star-Power like Hedi had. So I am always surprised by such things when I hear that it sells well (or that he sells even better than Hedi). Which again... doesn’t mean if I don’t see Dior on people around me, that they are underperfoming. Just something I m observing. All the time I was convinced that his collections only serve one purpose- to eventually sell a suit-white shirt-business shoes, and as an alternative to that a sweatshirt and a T-shirt with a large Dior logo. But I’ve always wondered how it’s possible to sell a suit or logo t-shirt without the very magic around the house or their designer. Well, I guess it is possible!

On the other hand, the only success that is more than obvious to me is that of their rivals.

The streets are flooded with Kering Products. Just on the example of footwear...they are just predominant. I mean ....the AM Oversized sneakers are literally on every corner. They are everywhere. If there were any sales statistics, it would come as no surprise, that they are the best-selling sneakers in this entire decade. Literally every third guy I know has a pair. They are followed by the ugliest sneakers ever made- Banenciaga Triple S, and equally ugly SL boots, etc. As for Dior, I see B01 sneakers here and there, but more a exception than the rule. And they are, if I remember correctly, related to Hedi.

For most of the guys I know, fashion is a afterthought... and most of them buy just to show off . But every time they buy something...they buy a product from the Kering Palette. Of course they are not aware that these are products from the same group. But the fact is that Kering’s marketing department is doing a masterful job in convincing people who have no interest in fashion to buy their stuff , and they have succeeded in something what other can only dream off. Something I don't really see with Dior despite the sounding name (Fendi is better at it).

Hedi changed the way men dressed but for a large part of his tenure, his influence was in the fashion industry, the entertainment industry and in Japan! Men started to wear skinny jeans towards the end of his tenure...Maybe the last year actually.
It was the time when The runway was still a bit disconnected from the street (compared to today). I remember, it was actually quite easy to recognize people who wore DH! It was a recognizable look (blazer, white shirt, jeans and white sneakers)! I even wore Dior Homme because I jumped on the bandwagon of Women wearing DH...When actually, my Balenciaga pieces were just enough.

His Dior Homme was big but the huge difference is that today, people are aware of fashion and it’s not necessarly this kind of « bubble ». I think Hedi’s YSL even in menswear was bigger than DH because men were already used to that aesthetic.

I totally agree about the rest.

 

[reesewu]

Apparently he gave British Vogue an exclusive preview of the couture collection:

 

[YohjiAddict]

Kate is bursting out of that dress' cleavage, looks like she's about to faint from a lack of oxygen. That preview reminds me of that picture of her wearing similarly dramatic earrings by Galliano for Dior (HC F/W 99.00).

The integrated jacket looks...not that convincing but the shoes do look lovely. Not that thrilled to be honest

 

[GivenchyHomme]

The first one looks like Jacquemus and the second one looks like Balenciaga by Alexander Wang. Never have my expectations of a designer been so low, now it’s even lower. Why are they spreading him so thin? Two major houses is a big commitment. They should just give him Dior womenswear instead of using Fendi as a trial experiment. Anything would be better than Maria Grazia!

 

[reesewu]

Looking at them, there’s a very good chance that Fendi’s signature architectural austerity will be eradicated in favor of a more romantic aesthetic. For some reason the second dress reminds me of Raf’s early couture work at Dior. I’m already missing Silvia’s work looking at this preview.

 

[Lola701]

The second dress gives me migraine. It looks like a Dior dress from the couple that designed after Raf...

But it’s somehow exciting to see someone’s take on a whole Karl’s created aesthetic besides Chloé.

 

[helmutnotdead]

Kate is also consulting on the accessories.

damn, I haven’t seen anything yet and I’m already tired of him at Fendi.

 

[reesewu]

The first one looks like Jacquemus and the second one looks like Balenciaga by Alexander Wang. Never have my expectations of a designer been so low, now it’s even lower. Why are they spreading him so thin? Two major houses is a big commitment. They should just give him Dior womenswear instead of using Fendi as a trial experiment. Anything would be better than Maria Grazia!

Maybe LVMH feel that they are running out of star designers both inside and outside of the company? Lol

I mean when you look at the current crop of star designers who have established a somewhat successful image of revamping a house, there isn’t many of them. Kim is among the very few with Dior Homme. I mean Riccardo continues to take a nosedive with Burberry, Pierpaolo is still too closely associated with Valentino, and the likes of Marc, Alber, and Theyskens are probably deemed too passé to them. They also probably thought that hiring a nobody like how Alessandro started out at Gucci wouldn’t give Fendi enough boost. Just look at how Prada decided to stick with Raf despite his track record of ruining brands. I’m sure they have many reasons to justify him but there’s no denying that one of them is his household name and how it’s still being revered by the streetstyle zeitgeist.

 

[Olaffo]

New Kate is also consulting on the accessories.

like small purses enough to contain small mirror, rolled notes and powder?

 

[Frederic01]

Kim Jones is collaborating with The Estate and Archive of Antonio Lopez & Juan Ramos for the Fendi Spring Summer 2022 collection, which will be shown later today.


Fendi Instagram