What is your vision for Dior Homme as a brand ?
Dior Homme is the ultimate men’s luxury brand. It rhymes with modernity and heritage, optimism and excellence, sartorialism and fashion. It’s a brand whose strength comes from innovation and creativity.
How hard is it to balance the brand’s heritage and future through designs?
I wouldn’t put it as hard. It’s challenging and yet rewarding. My ongoing work has always been to put Dior Homme in a modern perspective. Heritage is a source of excellence and sometimes inspiration. Still, one has to work on this heritage, using it as a code of luxury. Then, as any code, it’s only interesting if you twist it and cross it with other references. Crossing the codes of the Establishment is almost a punk attitude!
Speaking of design, what are the design codes of Dior Homme?
Dior Homme is rich in several design codes. My ambition is to expand these codes which often rhyme with wardrobe icons of the bourgeoisie. These very icons are not limited to a few sartorial pieces, like the suit or the tuxedo. It has expanded to new universes, like streetwear and outerwear, from sneakers to backpacks or parkas, transformed into luxury pieces.
You’ve been with Dior Homme for almost 9 years. How do you define the high-end luxury direction in menswear?
I’ve always pursued one goal, that is to give men tools and means to express their individuality. I don’t believe in fashion dictators nor in clones. I believe in the strength of individuals. High end luxury is all about oneself.
How much are you influenced by Mr. Dior as a person?
As you know Monsieur Dior never designed menswear. Still, his love of arts, his own elegance, defined by the French bourgeoisie codes, his personality, his passion for flowers or lucky charms, are like landmarks in the fields of my inspiration. Yet, as any source of inspiration, I never take it literally. On the contrary, the very values Monsieur Dior put at the core of the House, innovation and creativity, oblige me to reinvent them and to enchant them with modernity.
What do you think the luxury menswear market still lacks?
Optimism. And probably a certain sense of irony.
Tell us more about the design process for a Dior Homme look from the sketching phase up to the final at the atelier.
Creation is an ongoing process. As creative director, I find inspiration in life, in arts and in talks with friends. My ambition is then to transform it. Working with our in-house atelier, with my studio, stimulating a dialogue between craftsmen and creative people in my team, are keys to success.
Your latest SS16 collection had a lot of vibrant colours, somehow like weekend and street wear styles. Tell us more about this collection and its inspiration.
For summer 2016, I wanted optimism. And that comes with colours. Still, these colours are chosen carefully. They express codes, but the very codes they stand for are twisted. For years now, I’ve been crossing universes with streetwear meeting sartorialism to invent a new luxury. And so in the collection, orange, for example, would echo the lining of the iconic bomber jacket but would become sartorial when used on a light jacket. As for yellow, coming from the sailors universe, it’s used on a ostrich coat, the ultimate luxury. Parkas would be treated as the most exclusive pieces in red leather and sweat pants would be associated with an Argyle motive. It’s all about freedom.
How are you with Social media? And how do you think it has shaped the face of today’s fashion.
Social media comes with a sense of urge that echoes very much the speed of fashion and the age we are living in. As such, it’s a very stimulating creative sting. And as anyone, I use social networks, follow me on Instagram!
By Lara Mansour Sawaya
