Dior broke new ground for its SS22 men’s show, which saw Kim Jones collaborate with Travis Scott. Jones has worked with visual artists in the past including Peter Doig, Raymond Pettibon and Daniel Arsham, but this is the first time the brand has created a full collection with a musician. That said, Scott is no ordinary hitmaker. He’s a genuine creative and business polymath and a Gen-Z disruptor par excellence.

The models walked a psychedelic desert catwalk replete with cartoon-esque cacti and giant flowers – a blend of the Texan musician’s Cactus Jack creative collective and Mr Dior’s garden. The Dior Oblique motif now spells out the word “Jack,” and a cowboy-style double Saddle bag with a stirrup handle also made its debut.

Both Scott and Jones pushed fresh ideas of silhouette, fashioning a narrow torso over flaring trousers. The sportswear game was strong, with precision-cut track pants fastened with rodeo studs and the traditional Dior Toile was embellished with Texan cactus motifs. Along with the dusty pink and sandy colour palette, it felt fresh and alive. The feel-good factor didn’t stop there. The collection also included a series of hand-painted shirts by the artist George Condo, which will be auctioned to raise money for a scholarship fund set up by Scott to bring on the next generation of designers.

Describing how they worked, the pair said they would swap ideas and references, with Scott sending graphic ideas including the ‘ghost’ motif, which appeared on hand-knits and was hand-drawn by him. The musician was also fascinated by the precision of Dior’s tailoring. “We produce more street style things,” he said of his usual design output, “so to come into a house that does more couture-level, and kind of mesh, it was kind of cool.”

In the end, for both creatives, it all boils down to taste and point of view. “High-end, and even couture, has always even been in my metaverse of things I like. And I don’t think there’s even a difference going from McDonald’s to Dior. It’s just the things that I like in my natural state,” said Scott. “He’s a leader, not a follower” said Jones of his best client becoming his latest collaborator, “and I think that’s always really important. You cross different sections of society. The fact that he can do Dior and McDonald’s is testament to him — no one else could,” said Jones.

Photography by Cris Fragkou.

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