Kenny Scharf designs Dior men's pre-collection with 1980s flair

Kim Jones, artistic director of Dior menswear, collaborated with 1980s East Village artist Kenny Scharf for the French house's pre-collection presented online on December 8, 2020. The partnership was facilitated by Gagosian gallery. Scharf, known for his cartoon-style spray-painted works and association with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, created colorful prints for the collection, including twelve Chinese zodiac signs embroidered on knitwear. The collection also features dandy flourishes like bow corsets, charm bracelets, lace gloves, and tassels, with silhouettes softened for a lounge-like feel inspired by pandemic comfort. Jones referenced Dior archives from the Yves Saint Laurent era. The centerpiece of the collaboration is Scharf's 1984 painting "When the Worlds Collide," now in the Whitney Museum's permanent collection. Scharf has a long history of fashion and merchandise collaborations, including Fiorucci (1979), Stephen Sprouse (1992), Jeremy Scott (2014), Bulgari (2016), and Heron Preston, whose products are sold on Farfetch, Mytheresa, Modes, and MrPorter.