Blindfolds and back to the 50s for Dior Homme

Paris: British designer Kim Jones unveiled his latest collection for Dior Homme in Paris on Friday, sending some models out with blindfolds and drawing inspiration from the minimalist vintage looks of the 1950s.

Speaking to journalists before the show at the Ecole militaire, Jones said he had dived into the Christian Dior archives to admire the famous Line H collection for fall-winter 1954-1955.

A model presents a creation for the Dior Menswear Ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2025/2026 collection as part of the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt / AFP)

His collection contained "the idea of a very elegant, clean, graphic Dior, which is really going back to the origins of the house", he said.

In a limited pallet of pristine white, ivory, pastel pink and black, the Autumn-Winter Dior range features belted coats, leather jackets, satin blouses and sweaters -- all with clean and highly structured silhouettes.

A model presents a creation for the Dior Menswear Ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2025/2026 collection as part of the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Julien De Rosa / AFP)

The runway setting was a black cube with two monumental white staircases used by the models -- many of whom had to negotiate the steps with their eyes bound.

It drew its usual share of VIPs including actor and brand ambassador Robert Pattinson as well as model Kate Moss, a close friend of Jones.

The 51-year-old Londoner began work at Dior in 2018 and initially introduced a younger streetwear-influenced look to the classic Parisian house.

Believing that "gender doesn't matter any more", his designs are deliberately androgenous, with Friday's show featuring coats that transform into skirts, kimono-style dresses and jackets with bows.

Jones stepped down as womenswear artistic director at fellow LVMH-owned brand Fendi in October last year after four years at the helm.