Dior Men and Rimowa Unveil a Monogram Collaboration on the Spring 2020 Runway
Dior Rimowa Gallery
Few people travel as much as Dior Men artistic director Kim Jones. Over the next couple weeks, Jones will visit London, Monaco, and Namibia—which is to say that if anyone is qualified to upgrade Rimowa’s already-excellent luggage, it’s him. And that’s just what he did on his menswear runway today, unveiling a backpack, clutch, Champagne carrier, hand case, and a suitcase made of Rimowa’s sturdy aluminum and etched with the Dior monogram. The collaboration is a natural evolution of Jones’s extant relationship with Rimowa—he starred in the brand’s recent campaign—and of his friendship with Rimowa CEO Alexandre Arnault. “I think Kim is someone who encapsulates the brand perfectly because he’s one of those people who are on the road constantly and derives inspiration from being on the road,” Arnault says over the phone from Paris. “When the thought of working with a fashion designer [came into my mind], I thought he was probably the one that was the most relevant for us to partner with.” There’s also the LVMH connection, of course.
But this Rimowa collab is not like the others you’re familiar with, say, those bright red Supreme cases or Virgil Abloh’s transparent suitcases. Instead of tackling the checked-bag situation—though there is still one traditionally sized piece of luggage—Arnault and Jones focused on the the small essentials of travel. “I like, because I travel all the time, functional pieces that are easy to navigate; not just the suitcase that you pack for the plane, but things that you can use in different places,” Jones says. “We’ve done a really small clutch that can be a watch case, a jewelry case, or it can just have your passport and your phone in it.” For the designer, the idea to make small, everyday items was partially inspired by what would work on the runway with his space-meets-desert collection. “I envisioned it very much how it would look on the runway and what kind of things we could put on the runway,” he says. “They go hand in hand with the collection. Everything we do has to work together, otherwise it’s not authentic—and I hate inauthenticity.”
These petite pieces are also the result of customer feedback that Rimowa has been receiving for years. “The number-one thing the customer has told us is that they love the brand, but it’s associated to the most horrible part of travel, the airport. People ask: What can you give us that we will be able to wear, use, or whatever once we’re at our destination, which is the enjoyable part of travel? Once you’re at the destination, the suitcase is just in the hotel room doing nothing,” he says. And so the line of smaller, more practical items was born.
As for the design elements, both Jones and Arnault say that figuring out the logistics of manufacturing smaller pieces with design integrity was a trial-and-error process. Once the shapes, including the luxe Champagne carrier, were decided upon, embossing them with the Dior monogram was the obvious next step. “The monogram was actually invented for the first luggage of Christian Dior in the 1960s, so it’s really looking at a point in the history of the house and trying to modernize it, to make a new history for the house,” Jones says. If the instant reaction to the crossbody clutches, worn over pastel suits on the runway today is any indication, these pieces will be Dior hits for the future, too.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
