Dior Men’s Artistic Director Kim Jones drew inspiration from the world of ballet, presenting men’s couture. Directed by Baillie Walsh, the presentation was set to music by Max Richeter, who revisited The Dance of the Knights, taken from Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet.  

The collection echoed Monsieur Dior’s relationship with ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn and her famous dance partner Rudolf Nureyev, who was a friend of Kim Jones’ uncle, a dancer turned photographer.   

“The collection, or rather collections, are about contrast: the contrasts in the House of Dior in terms of ready-to-wear and haute couture. It’s the difference between onstage and backstage; the life of Nureyev theatrically and in reality. Here it is a meeting of the dancer’s style with that of the Dior archive,” Kim Jones said.  

The Maison’s heritage is revisited in the men’s wardrobe, notably the Dior tailoring by Yves Saint Laurent, whose volumes, vents, pleats and necklines run throughout the collection. The iconic Bar jacket is united with the Oblique suit, featuring a double-breasted wrap.  

The soft palette of grays and beiges is enlivened with bursts of pink and blue.  The figure of Nureyev and a dancer training inspired zipped wool jumpsuits and shorts worn with high socks and second-skin ribbed knits. The couture silhouettes reflect his extravagant and flamboyant stage presence, along with his private passion for antique textiles. A silver Uchikake kimono with prestigious Hikihaku took ten skilled artisans three months to complete. Archive embroideries also come alive, in particular on the Debussy dress, worn by Margot Fonteyn and reinvented in a masculine iteration. Softly constructed utilitarian bags amplify Dior codes, including oversized macrocannage on camera and bum bags. Shoes echo dancing slippers, and a twisted silk jersey dancer’s turban brings majestic masculine form to headwear to create flowing looks.