Dior has presented its Spring 23 Mens capsule collection, on a spring evening on the iconic Winward Avenue in California’s Venice Beach. An iconic street familiar from the world of film, art and fashion intertwined with the creative dialogue of Creative Director Kim Jones and Eli Russell Linnetz, ERL’s Creative Director and guest designer for the capsule.

A blend of Parisian haute couture with California culture, silhouettes are revealed to be a mixture of structures: slouching, easy everyday sensibilities are at the heart of tailoring and the mastery of fabric in Dior ateliers. House classics were reinvented, with cannage transformed into quilting – satin and leather – on skate sneakers and crystal-encrusted trousers. Through interpolating historical House motifs with contemporary shapes and silhouettes, there was a crossroads of  eras walked in the show.

Linnetz’s year of birth (1991) was the foundation from which to build for the collection. Pieces revisited the Dior archives, most notably the work of Gianfranco Ferré, with the bar jacket and accessories featuring aplenty. It was a renaissance of classic Dior styles, reworked with a contemporary vision, with Linnetz interested in diving into an archive that had remained relatively untouched since Ferré’s time at the House.

“I think people would assume that I would be more into the Galliano archive because it’s so theatrical, but actually through my research I become more interested in diving into something that hadn’t been touched before,” said Linnetz of delving into the House archives.

Many ERL signature motifs filtered through the lens of the Dior Mens Spring 23 collection, with baggy skater boy shorts prevalent yet reworked with beaded-trim for an after-dark feel. Pillbox hats worn backwards with beaded veils were, according to Linnetz, a nod to Jackie O. Miniature tinsel saddle bags were a take on the classic skater keychain wallet, bound to be popular with those partial to a trending street style moment.