For his Men’s Resort 2023 show, Dior creative director Kim Jones teamed up with Eli Russel Linnetz to bring surf and skate attire with French high fashion. Jones had always idolised California, and his first image of the city was Venice Beach.
For the designer, the idea of California was one that translated into being cool. It was where the cool kids hung out, with their surfboards and skates. The designer turned to California and in particular Venice Beach, teaming up with Venice born multihyphenate Eli Russel Linnets from ERL.
“When I was growing up in England, Venice Beach was a fantasy where all the kids were cool, and Eli is one of the cool kids,” Jones said when previewing the show.
For this show Jones and ERL took to Venice Beach, closing Windward and Pacific Avenues. Venice’s historic street sign was altered to read “ERL Dior”. The street was transformed to create an ocean blue runway, while set pieces included two cresting waves, a sunset, and host of colourful characters skateboarding, Rollerblading and riding scooters fitted with massive boom boxes on them, among other Venice Beach staples.
The collection featured relaxed fits crafted through rich fabrications. The California Couture collection featured elevated tailoring in surf and skate inspired shorts, logo tubed socks, connage quilted high-tops and grunge sweaters, each elevated by Linnetz’s embroidery and Tinseltown tinsel trims. The collection also included elegant, veiled hats and diamond riviere necklaces – a nod to Parisian high fashion.
The standout piece for the night was a pair of satin basketball shorts set with a dazzling crustal wave and shell embroideries. Elsewhere the pair had drawn from Dior archives, rendering Jones’ Bar and Diorrissimo jackets in quilted silk, giving them a polished slouch look. Linnetz lent his interpretation to Galliano’s newspaper prints and included his own imagery that referenced the history of Venice Beach.
The Dior Saddle Bag was also given a new rendition, this time in tinsel, and moulded gold metal. The handle is made from skater-boy chain.
Here are the best looks from Dior’s California Couture collection:
