Dior Men's Resort 2022 Collection Revives the Marc Bohan Era
Kim Jones reimagines Marc Bohan's 1960s collections in his dynamic design for Dior Men's Resort 2022 collection.
In his three years as Creative Director at Dior Men, Kim Jones has created collections that combine the contemporary art world of artists such as KAWS, Daniel Arsham, Amoako Boafo, Kenny Scharf, and Peter Doig with founder Christian Dior's signature seams from the '50s. Coming to the brand's Resort 2022 collection, Jones has moved on to the '60s, drawing inspiration from Maison Dior's second successor Marc Bohan. To appreciate Bohan's masterpiece in the hands of Jones, it's important to first remember his contributions to the brand's history.
In 1960, when Dior's youngest Haute Couture designer Yves Saint Laurent left to join the army, Marc Bohan soon became the second person to succeed the namesake designer as the head of Dior. Possibly the least-known of Dior's designers, Bohan has the longest career at any creative director. With three decades of serving the ladies of Dior, Bohan left a silent but unforgettable mark on the fashion house.
He opted for a more conservative look through simple, versatile designs reminiscent of the 1920s. Most notably, his first Dior collection was titled “Slim Look.” The collection was designed by Bohan to create a slim, youthful figure: soft shoulders, flat hips, and a knee-length hemline. Like Dior's "New Look," "Slim Look" was elegant, but it allowed more freedom and movement for women's changing lifestyles.
In addition, he is also the creator of one of Dior's famous motifs, the Dior Oblique print.
Since taking over as creative director at Dior Men in 2018, Jones has used Dior's creations from the '50s as inspiration for his sharp designs. For the Resort 2022 collection, Jones skipped a decade to Bohan, whose designs have inspired the brand's current line of comfortable sportswear.
Jones roams with subtle variations of the Dior Oblique model, perhaps Bohan's most enduring contribution to Dior's visual identity. The lesser-known logos of previous Dior designers also provided the inspiration for Jones to design his heart-shaped "CD" that appears on jackets and shirts with elaborate embroidered forms. Additionally, the classic logo “Christian Dior Atelier” is used to elevate baseball jackets and shirts. Windproof nylon jackets combined with Saddle bags and leopard print jackets in eye-catching colors will attract a large number of shoppers.
Loosely draped around the ankles, with a neutral and warm palette of chocolate, green, caramel and dusty pink, the pants typically seen from Jones' hands are back in tactile materials.
“The palette is really a compilation of all the favorite colors we've used over the past three years – bringing them together and evolving them into the next step of what we do at Dior. I think it's good if you reinvent what you do,” said Jones.
With the increasing frequency of Dior footwear, Jones welcomes the B30 sneaker that combines contemporary French fashion and an oversized “CD” logo. Also debuting in this collection is the new Linggot bag, available in a rectangular shape and multiple sizes.
