Dior Men's Pre-Fall 20 Collection Looks To Artist Shawn Stüssy

Tuesday 3 December, Miami USA, Dior Men's showcased the house's second-ever pre-fall collection, the first having shown in Tokyo, Japan in 2018. For pre-fall 20, Dior chose to focus on celebrating the house's immense relationship with art, showing the collection on the eve of the inauguration of the Art Basel Miami fair, directly across the street from the Rubell Museum - the latter an ode to Monsieur Dior's first vocation as a gallerist.

Under Artistic Director Kim Jones' rein alone, the brand has collaborated with world-renowned artists KAWS, Raymond Pettibon, Daniel Earsham and Hajime Soroyama. This time, Jones sought the eye of artist and streetwear designer Shawn Stüssy. An individual positioned at the intersection of counterculture and the creative world of surfing, Stüssy founded the now-iconic eponymous brand in the early 80s, leaving the company in 1999. Pulled out of retirement for the task, Stüssy and his instantly recognisable typography seem a serendipitous match for the re-imagining of the Dior logo - a task that befalls all of Jones' select collaborators. 'For quite a few years I’ve been in contact with various companies to talk about project possibilities, and it just never felt right to me.' Says Stüssy, 'When Kim reached out, I felt the stars might have just lined up. To me, Dior holds a very rare and unique place in the world.'

Stüssy created a new logo, a new bee design and a repeating pattern for the house, all of which appeared in a youthful explosion throughout the collection. Honouring not only the Miami location but Stüssy's surfer roots, Dior's show was a psychedelic riot of blue tones, tropical wools and graffiti-style prints. Working alongside Jones and his curated team - Yoon Ahn, Matthew Williams and Stephen Jones - Stüssy's Dior logo was seen throughout the trio's covetable accessories: Jones' berets and beanies, Williams' silver clip accessories and Ahn's chunky statement jewellery. 'Natural and stress-free,' says Stüssy of the experience.

Tributes to the house's heritage and haute couture were present, with key looks - in this collection and indeed Jones' collections prior - reminiscent of Dior's bar suit. This sharp, decadent tailoring alongside the youthful streetwear-infused energy of Stüssy's logo and the bright colour-palette provided a refreshing joie de-vivre for Pre-fall 20. Stüssy himself a trailblazer of such hybridisation, 'I have worn suits for 30 years; I have a massive love of the classic men’s tailoring. I think I adopted suits with sneakers back then to stand out from my crowd, to mess with the status quo.'