Gwendoline Christie and Robert Pattinson lent their voices to the Dior Men autumn/winter 2023 runway show. As both took their turns reciting T.S Eliot’s The Waste Land—a melancholic piece published in 1922—a live orchestra played on as models walked slowly in the foreground as though they were merely strolling along.
Artistic director Kim Jones referenced Yves Saint Laurent’s time at Dior as the main inspiration behind the autumn/winter 2023 collection. The then-21-year-old was one of the youngest couturiers in history and was an apprentice of Monsieur Dior before founding his own fashion house.
“In this collection, we wanted to look at the regeneration of the house after the death of Mr Dior, and its rejuvenation with Yves Saint Laurent—his chosen heir—drawing a parallel in literature, through imagery and themes in The Waste Land. It’s where an old world meets a new one, in change and in flux,” expresses Jones in the collection notes.
The resulting Dior Men autumn/winter 2023 collection was reminiscent of Jones’ first outing for the house; not in the way that it was designed, but rather in how the collection felt purposeful. There was a studied approach of combining both masculine and feminine design elements together—soft, intentional draping on tailoring as well as pleated seams for a more languid silhouette—entirely based on the construction of a garment.
Arm warmers were crafted from the same fabrics as they were worn on (looks 6, 9 and 17) for an almost seamless pairing, save for the gathered drawstring that sat just above the elbow. Kilt-like bermudas felt utterly British, especially when rendered in tweed, and alluded to traditional British hunting gear, but once again, softened in the way that they were cut and seemed to move weightlessly. Then there were off-kilter knitwear worn only on one side and then draped on the other for a sculptural effect.
Embellishments were kept to the minimum. Other than looks 2, 4 and 45, everything else was kept simplified with nary a pattern nor a print overpowering lines and construction.
What’s exceptionally quieter this season were the bags. Echoing Saint Laurent’s constant pursuit for modern refinement, shapes were mostly boxy with almost no visible flourishes—a discreet, old money take on luxury; if you know, you know.
There was also no collaborative effort with another brand this time around. Jones has always been big on collaborations and the choice to not include one for the Dior Men autumn/winter 2023 collection showed that a Dior Men collection can stand on its own without any other external noises. In fact, this was easily one of Jones’ best efforts yet and one that felt true to the spirit of Dior.
View the full Dior Men autumn/winter 2023 collection in the gallery below.
