At Dior , Kim Jones has collaborated with some of the finest visual artists out there , from Peter Doig to Raymond Pettibon and Daniel Arsham . But somehow this season ’ s joint effort with a 29-year-old rapper from Houston made the most sense . Travis Scott is one of the most remarkable musicians in the world right now , a Gen Z idol who embodies the esoteric fashion attitude of social-media culture and who has a child with Kylie Jenner . He is the type of celebrity who sits front row at Jones ’ s shows . But today the hip-hop community is no longer being dictated to by fashion . They ’ ve shifted that paradigm , claimed their rightful influence on the industry , and got behind the wheel .
Scott ’ s collaboration with Dior was a manifestation of that evolution : a meeting between a creator and his muse , who hadn ’ t quite decided who had been cast in which role . “ From the stage to the music , it was never just about the clothes but about the experience ,” Scott said during fittings in Jones ’ s Paris ateliers . “ It ’ s how you see and hear it , how you see the music .” He was talking about the live show production — which spliced memories of Christian Dior ’ s childhood gardens with the cactus-heavy Texan landscape Scott grew up around — but he might as well have been painting a picture of his own fashion understanding . Gifted with an instinct for styling , Scott has a personal wardrobe as distinctive as his sound . “ It ’ s about taste , isn ’ t it ?” Jones told Scott . “ Some people have it , some don ’ t . Luckily you do !”
The internet will give you endless get-the-look guides on Scott and his designers of choice , from Jones to Virgil Abloh , Phoebe Philo , and the cult Japanese brands that underline said esoteric fashion culture . Going forward , style tips can all defer to this season ’ s Dior collection , which was a medley of those influences . Jones explained it was inspired by the artist ’ s own look as well as his various creative outputs . “ We had some hard design sessions for a couple of months ,” Scott said . “ I would draw graphics and send them to him . We sat down with mad refs , breaking down where we felt like we wanted to take it .” The palette painted a picture of Houston , its pink skies , green cacti , and the browns of the earth that have become trademark colors in Scott ’ s wardrobe .
The silhouette felt rooted in the rapper ’ s penchant for a slightly oversized top paired with a flared pant , skinny but not tight . Iterations on tracksuit bottoms were particularly strong , tailored to precision and studded with cowboy-like metal buttons down the side . In a nod to that same cultural heritage , Scott had interpreted John Galliano ’ s saddle bag for Dior as a double bag that felt more rodeo than ever . Another of the artist ’ s signatures : patterns that evoked the rattlesnakes and desert flowers of the Texan plains . He had cacti-fied the maison ’ s toile de Jouy , while the ghostly motifs that appeared on tops were his own . “ They ’ re imaginary things that kind of pop up in my head , and I draw them by hand ,” Scott said , pointing to the same motifs woven in knits . “ These are knitted by hand , which is so fucking nuts . It ’ s crazy .”
Talking about the trips he and Jones had taken to the Dior archives , Scott was clearly in heaven . “ Me coming in and being able to have those in my hands …,” he paused , a smile on his face . Later , he effused about the wish-to-reality aspect of an atelier like Dior , which can literally make anything happen . “ Making some of your imagination come to life , it ’ s kind of crazy .” His enthusiasm was visible in the collection , and that ’ s why it felt like such a shrewd match for Jones . Rather than applying an artist ’ s work to his own garments like he ’ s done in the past , this was the designer inviting his perhaps most influential Dior client to take an active part in the creation , from silhouette to motif and surface decoration . It was organic .
Within that context , the collection featured another collaboration in the form of a series of shirts hand-painted by artist George Condo , which will be auctioned off to raise money for scholarships for a future generation of designers . “ Travis told me he was starting a foundation for kids to go to Parsons . If we do this with Dior , there ’ s such a voice around it . If I were going to college now , I wouldn ’ t be able to afford to do it . It ’ s so expensive , and in America it ’ s even more expensive . You come out with a hundred-grand debt before you ’ re even done ,” Jones said . “ I just feel like we need to use our money to help these kids ,” Scott concurred . Asked what feeling he wanted for the Dior show — the house ’ s first men ’ s show with a live audience since the pandemic — Scott leaned in , paused , and said , “ Have you ever been to utopia ?”
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