The ceremony of the everyday. For his Winter 2021-2022 collection for the House of Dior, men’s artistic director Kim Jones draws inspiration from the masculine extravagance of ceremonial garb – a living link with the past, still dynamic and alive today. Like haute couture, it connects the now with then: a window into history and heritage. Alongside heritage, the contemporary: with this collection, Kim Jones and Dior debut a collaboration with the Scottish-born, Trinidad-based artist Peter Doig.

Couture is itself a ceremony: Christian Dior himself described the ceremonial entry of his models for each new look. For Winter 2021-2022, uniforms with embroidery and embellishment – notably inspired by the Académie des Beaux-Arts – offer a masculine interpretation of couture. Decorations and motifs from the Dior archives are reinvented. Covered buttons are those of the iconic Bar jacket; the gilded embroidery of Rosella, a haute couture evening gown designed by Marc Bohan in the Sixties.

Christian Dior translated dreams to reality: today, Kim Jones does the same by translating the work of Peter Doig into fashion. Jones, Doig and the Dior ateliers collaborated intimately to realize this collection: exceptionally, Doig himself has not only devised motifs, but has worked by hand on a selection of wool felt hats by Stephen Jones, adding captivating hand-painted designs inspired by his own work, memories, and connections with the house of Dior. Art and fashion dialogue: two animalistic emblems were specially created by Peter Doig for Dior, a likeness of Christian Dior’s dog Bobby, and a lion that simultaneously recalls characters from Doig’s paintings and a masquerade costume made by Pierre Cardin for Christian Dior in 1949, an echo evoking the steadfast friendships Mr. Dior had with artists like Jean Cocteau and Christian Bérard, a passion for art and artistry that the House has always cherished.