Dior's Kim Jones Teams Up with Rising Art Star Amoako Boafo for Latest Men's Collection

Men’s Fashion Week kicks off this weekend with Loewe, and just like with the most recent haute couture fashion week, designers are looking for new ways to present their collections as the tried and true runway show is nearly impossible due to the current health crisis. Dior continued the digital fashion week festivities yesterday, when Kim Jones, Dior’s Men’s Artistic Director shared his Summer 2021 Men’s Collection via a film that is at the “crossroads of contemporary art and documentary.” Jones, who has received outstanding acclaim since he stepped into the role in 2018 thanks in part to covetable ready-to-wear and hyped-up sneakers, decided to collaborate with Ghana-born Vienna-trained artist Amoako Boafo for this collection.

In uniting Boafo’s art with the craftsmanship of Dior, the collection is an eye-catching mix of vibrant colors and prints. Embroidered sweaters are a lively expression of the rich texture of Boafo’s tactile finger-painting technique, and the semi-sheer shirts mimick his brushwork. Accompanying these masterpieces were anything and everything from the iconic Dior saddle bag to dad sandals to berets.

Jones encountered Boafo during Art Basel in Miami in December, where Boafo was an artist-in-residence at the Rubell Museum. Jones had staged his Dior Men's pre-fall show across the street. At 36, Boafo is one of the most interesting rising young stars in the art world. He creates bold, oversized portraits of Black subjects, and is known for the highly-praised Diaspora Series (2018 - ongoing), which is a celebration of Black life. The duo began collaborating late last year, adapting Boafo’s stylistic art to Jones' fashion, in hopes of establishing an "honest cultural conversation" about diversity within the art and fashion industries.