Kim Jones Reveal Dior’s Fall 2021 Men’s Collection Livestreaming in Shanghai
While the pandemic is still very much in full effect, it’s nice to see the creative ways artists have adopted to ensure that some semblances of normalcy can be maintained. For fans of designer Kim Jones and/or the Dior legacy at large, Tuesday brought with it good news in the form of a livestream for the Dior men’s fall 2021 show.
Paying tribute to Judy Blame, the Winter 2020-2021 men’s collection, through a series of signature tailoring pieces by Kim Jones, celebrates both the late artist’s iconoclastic inspirations and the couture heritage of Christian Dior.
The collection was born of a dialogue rich in meaning and modernity: the legacies of Dior and Judy Blame affirm, more than ever, the timeless power of savoir-faire.
Judy Blame was an alchemist. The iconoclastic autodidact — who passed away in February 2018 — was known for appropriating everyday objects and using them to design jewelry that transcended its humble origins to attain art status. A loyal friend of the subversive pioneer, Kim Jones, the Artistic Director of Dior men’s collections, today pays tribute to Blame’s fascinating universe, one without borders, for his Winter 2020-2021 collection. The Dior logo has been revisited and pierced with a safety pin – a nod to Blame’s DIY influence – while the iconic toile de Jouy metamorphoses into “Toile de Judy”, punctuated with scissors, padlocks and other emblems the artist favored. These pieces were designed in collaboration with the Trust Judy Blame* foundation, based on the artist’s revolutionary work.
Born in England in 1960, Judy Blame was a well-established fixture of the early Eighties club scene, a time when the guest list at Taboo read like a who’s who of future cultural icons. It’s in this context that this denizen of the night, who left home at 17 to seek out London, found inspiration in (and alongside) fellow creatives like Leigh Bowery, David Holah, John Galliano, Derek Jarman, John Maybury and Scarlett Cannon. In 1985, he helped John Moore set up “The House of Beauty and Culture” in Dalston, a unique, effervescent gathering place for talented artists, designers and photographers. Producing and working alongside talents like Christopher Nemeth, Mark Lebon and Dave Baby, The House of Beauty and Culture became a kind of blueprint for later collaborations with designers including Rei Kawakubo, Gareth Pugh, Marc Jacobs and Kim Jones. Judy Blame’s styling career was kick-started by his friendship with Ray Petri, the polymath at the head of the close-knit and influential Buffalo collective. The multi-faceted artist cut his teeth creating ground-breaking editorials for i-D and The Face, and was always in demand as a stylist, working to shape the image of artists like Neneh Cherry, Björk, Boy George, Kylie Minogue and Massive Attack. His exhibition Judy Blame: Never Again, held in 2016 at the iconic ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) in London, featured prints, collages and jewelry, demonstrating the deeper aspects of his image-making. His work was more than just startling visually; it had a political message too. Judy — who passed away in February 2018 — was known for his simple and effective mantra: “Make something. Wear it. Cause trouble.”
