Paris menswear welcomes many firsts this season, with Virgil Abloh’s debut at Louis Vuitton earlier this week and now, Dior Men (no longer Dior Homme, which signifies a literal transition into a new era): Kim Jones’ first menswear line as artistic director for the French fashion house.

Set at the Garde Républicaine in Paris, guests including A-list designers Karl Lagerfeld, Virgil Abloh, Victoria Beckham, Kenzo Takada and Chitose Abe were greeted by a giant floral centerpiece covered in over 70,000 black, white and pink blooms, commissioned to created by KAWS. As Jones considered KAWS the industry’s most important creative figures, he joined hands with KAWS designer to create a 10m avatar of Mr Dior holding his dog Bobby, setting a respectful tone for his first collection.

“Everyone loves his work, they understand it, it’s easy, it’s great. So I commissioned him to do the bee and also the set for the show.” Said Kim Jones, pre-show.

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Kim Jones Debut Collection is a tribute to Mr Dior’s codes

At a time when leading luxury brands are steering towards the streetwear consumer base, Kim Jones is moving in the opposite direction. For his Spring/ Summer 2019 debut for Dior, Jones dug into the the brand heritage for inspiration. While he has only been at helm for 3 months, following his departure from Louis Vuitton in January, Jones expressed that the elements he had narrowed down to for this first collection are interpretations of Mr Dior’s codes.

The signature Dior elements rang true to aficionados of the fashion house. Toile du jouy patterns from the wallpaper in the first Dior boutique were used on jacquards and leathers; the famous cut used by Dior himself inspired the tailoring and the name of the new jacket, the Tailleur Oblique; and pink and grey hues that are synonymous with the brand, were seen throughout the show.

But Jones did a lot more than honour a legacy. He inserted himself into the house history with such confidence, as seen from the stripes print that was contributed to the collection and shorts juxtaposing against tailored tops, giving the collection an airy sporty flair, a visual contrast to the exquisite Dior tailoring techniques. In more ways than one, this collection portrayed a quintessential mix of Jones’s own past and Dior’s future.