SINGAPORE (Dec 13): What do art, sport and sustainability have in common? Plenty.
What's new at Dior Homme
Just as Christian Dior did in the late 1940s, Dior Homme creative director Kim Jones has crossed borders to cultivate links between France and the US with a 2020 pre-fall runway show in Miami, just before the opening of Art Basel Miami Beach. On display were looks that combined the luxurious and the casual as well as the traditional and the modern, with numerous references gleaned from the Dior archives and reinterpreted with strong motifs and elements, which were often boldly colourful and optimistic. With this latest show, organised in the grounds of the Rubell Museum, Kim Jones presented a celebration of youth, liberty, movement and multiple influences that emanate from French and American cultures. Art also took pride of place in this new Dior Homme collection. This was not only reflected in the choice of venue for the runway show, but also in the partnership that has been launched with streetwear pioneer Shawn Stussy. The founder of the accessories and clothing brand Stüssy offered his graffiti-style interpretation of the Dior logo and bee on new prints.
Guess makes its jeans more sustainable
Guess has announced plans to make its denim more sustainable, after joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s “Make Fashion Circular” initiative. The LA-based fashion and lifestyle brand has committed to developing its denim according to the initiative’s Jeans Redesign guidelines, which have established minimum requirements in a bid to make denim production more ethical and sustainable. To achieve this, the label has recruited the help of students at its local fashion university, the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles. “The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is leading the way in rethinking fashion design, and Guess is thrilled to be a part of this transformation,” Guess CEO Carlos Alberini says in a statement. Francois Souchet, Make Fashion Circular lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, says: “Guess has been synonymous with denim culture throughout its history — and by joining the Jeans Redesign, they are helping to shape the industry’s future.
“We are delighted to be working with them to create jeans that last longer, that can be remade into new jeans at the end of their use, and are made in ways that are better for the environment and the people that make them.” The foundation issued its guidelines in July, introducing requirements regarding garment durability, material health, recyclability and traceability. According to the guidelines, jeans should be free of hazardous chemicals and conventional electroplating, they should be produced using cellulose fibres from regenerative, organic or transitional farming methods, and they should withstand at least 30 home launderings. In signing up to the initiative, Guess joins a slew of major brands already committed to it, including Gap, H&M, Lee and Tommy Hilfiger.
