After Nearly a Decade of Dior Homme Dominance, Kim Jones Is Out
Kim Jones is stepping down as the artistic director of menswear at Dior, a week after presenting a commanding Winter 2025 collection at Paris Fashion Week.
The British designer utterly transformed Dior during his seven-year-long tenure, muscling it to the forefront of the luxury-streetwear divide that he himself helped erode while leading Louis Vuitton, his prior gig.
Jones helped boost Dior's revenue to impressive highs, even if its cool factor dipped — as recently as late 2024, Dior was frequently left off of lists ranking the hottest contemporary luxury labels.
Still, even amidst a tough luxury climate, Dior revenue continues to climb, likely a due to the household recognizability of the Dior brand.
Back in 2018, Jones kicked off his tenure at Dior Homme with a bang. His debut collection was a massive partnership with the artist KAWS that launched in 2019 and set the tone for the Kim Jones Dior era.
The early iteration of Jones' Dior man was epitomized by consistent collaborations with artists like Hajime Sorayama, Raymond Pettibon and Shawn Stussy. He eventually expanded the Dior Homme oeuvre to include designers like ERL founder Eli Russell Linnetz and Denim Tears' Tremaine Emory and, once, the estate of T. S. Eliot.
Collaboration has long been Jones' signature and it has always proven to be a masterstroke at Dior (though he also did much of the same at Fendi).
Beyond the seasonal team-ups, Jones also brought in external talent behind the scenes, inviting AMBUSH co-founder Yoon to design Dior Homme jewelry and 1017 ALYX 9SM founder Matthew M. Williams to lend his signature rollercoaster buckle to Dior's bags and belts.
Jones knows the power of collaborating over co-opting, going straight to the source and infusing his work with authentic cultural clout.
This was perhaps best demonstrated by Jones' landmark Dior x Jordan Brand collaboration that launched just over a year into his time at Dior, perhaps the biggest street-luxury hybridization since Jones' Louis Vuitton x Supreme collection in 2017.
The buzzy co-signs lent Jones' otherwise understated Dior collections mass appeal, allowing the British designer to have his cake and eat it too: while luxury rivals like Balenciaga chased and ignited trends, Jones' Dior man wore timelessly urbane wardrobe staples jazzed-up by literally artistic statement pieces.
By inviting external partners into Dior's world, Jones fleshed out the maison's purview, retaining the mature sophistication innate to Dior while introducing a youthful edge.
It was faithful enough to the Dior Homme template established by prior creative directors like Kris Van Assche but very much shaped by Jones' own hand.
Dior x Stone Island? Dior x Birkenstock? Those only could've come from one guy.
This commercial know-how will be a selling point for any houses looking to enlist the services of Streetwear scion Jones (who is now a free agent, having left his role at Fendi last year).
The luxury industry is currently undergoing a huge shake-up with designers moving between houses with gusto. Jones departing his huge role at Dior is only another stop on the ongoing rollercoaster ride of hirings and departures.
