Dior Captures the Essence of California Cool with a Runway Show in Venice Beach

Not just anyone can shut down an iconic corner of Venice Beach, but if you're Dior you can. Kim Jones, artistic director of men's at Dior, and Eli Russell Linnetz, founder of the super-cool brand ERL, came together to create what is sure to be one of the most coveted collections of the Spring 2023 season, debuting their capsule in the corner of Los Angeles, California, that Linnetz calls home. 

Before becoming a designer, the young creative was a photographer, director, producer, and art director, and rose to fame collaborating with like personalities Kanye West and Lady Gaga. Linnetz turned to fashion design thanks to a piece of advice from none other than Adrian Joffe, the CEO of Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market, who in 2018, convinced him to create his own brand. His brand garnered international attention when ASAP Rocky wore a patchwork quilt-like cape to the Met Gala in 2021 and was soon after shortlisted for the 2022 LVHM Prize, which is often seen as the arbiter of who's next in fashion.

“During my journey at Dior, we collaborated with different people and personalities,” explained Jones, backstage on the show. "But this time, I wanted to go in a different direction, choosing another gaze that could read the Maison and its universe. With this concept in mind, I wanted to work with Eli Russell Linnetz, whose creativity I deeply admire. And I wanted to see things from a different point of view, that of a young creative with incredible creativity. The path was very simple and revealing and made us understand why we both work in fashion." 

Jones and Linnetz noted that Monsieur Christian Dior first visited Los Angeles in April 1957, and kept this in mind when they began to develop this special capsule. But they also decided to explore another era in Dior history. "We were inspired by the Dior archives starting from the year of my birth, 1991," Linnetz said. "They were the only years of Gianfranco Ferré in the creative direction, which seemed to us perfect for interpreting this moment. The idea of a certain maximalism that pervades the whole collection comes from there, and also from one side of my aesthetic universe. We explored a melange of chaos and manic perfectionism. We have generated a clash of eras and moments, between fragments of historical and contemporary antiquity. All in the name of a conversation between different spaces, times, and generations."

The outcome? "California couture," as the audience saw emblazoned on a few shirts. A mélange of precious embroideries and couture-like pearl beading, colors inspired by west coast beaches, lurex and sportswear, refined tailoring paired with oversized skater shoes, all with an exuberant, playful outlook on how men can dress today. The Dior classic saddlebag was updated with oversized shoulder straps in golden chains. The cape made from a patch of sports shirts and fragments of college tartan tells the story of opulence in pure Ferré style, but is also a nod to Linnetz's most photographed creation. 

Scroll to watch the Dior Men's Spring 2023 show in Los Angeles, and to see who attended.