Oliver Sim for Dior Homme, summer 2016
French fashion house Christian Dior has cast men from different career verticals to showcase that the Dior Homme consumer is not a singular vision.
Dior Homme’s summer 2016 campaign brings together a singer-songwriter, actor, artist and model together for a video effort capturing “Dior men in the plural,” showing that its menswear is appropriate for a wide range of consumers. The definition of a luxury shopper is constantly evolving, and impossible to pinpoint as consumption behavior changes, but by showing various interpretations of a brand’s ideal consumer those exposed to the campaign may see themselves in the effort.
“There’s no doubt men’s cultural attitudes about appearance have shifted; it’s no longer taboo to discuss designers, trends, grooming habits, celebrity style icons, street fashion or the rise of Kanye on the catwalk,” said Jem Ripley, SapientNitro head of retail – Northeast.
“Men are also significantly less afraid to experiment with clothing. With many offices adopting less formal dress codes and many retailers expanding their breadth of size, style and accessory offerings, there’s more incentive — and freedom — than ever for him to express himself,” he said. “What we see is not clothes making the man, but today’s man using his buying power to mix and match, and to make the clothes work for him.
“If we needed any further indication of this trend, for Dior designer Kris Van Assche to have put aside his rigid commitment to minimalism and to experiment with new proportions, textures and colors, it becomes crystal clear that today’s powerful male consumer is anything but homogenous in his dressing habits, and expects versatility from leading designers.
“There is not one Dior Homme consumer, but many; and each of them is looking for something to which he can aspire, as well as something to inspire him directly to purchase,” he said.
Mr. Ripley is not affiliated with Dior, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Dior was unable to comment directly.
Rule breakers
For summer 2016, Dior selected singer-songwriter Oliver Sim, actor Alain-Fabien Delon, artist Rinus Van de Velde and model Victor Nylander as the physical representations of the Dior Homme man.
The campaign, a collaboration between season artistic director Kris Van Assche and photographer Willy Vanderperre, shows each man’s own personality, and the differences between them to reflect the realities of Dior’s consumer base.
In a statement shared on Dior’s magalog DiorMag, Mr. Van Assche said, “Charismatic, each with their distinct individuality, they break the rules of the male wardrobe while respecting its traditions. They move in a contemporary and creative world. These are the men that we know embody something of the spirit of Dior Homme.”
Alain-Fabien Delon for Dior Homme, summer 2016
The video, titled “Stranger in a Room,” begins with Mr. Delon waking from a nap and sitting on the edge of his bed pensively before having a bite to eat at a table. He exits the frame and Mr. Sim is shown sitting on a staircase as he ties his shoes.
Mr. Sim is then shown writing on a pad of paper, and as the video progresses, he stands and walks out of the frame. As Mr. Sim walks out, the camera pans to Mr. Nylander in an arm chair.
The camera spends time on Mr. Nylander as he reads a book, then in a following frame the model is seen walking past Mr. Van de Velde as he sits at on a stool next to his art supplies.
Victor Nylander for Dior Homme, summer 2016
Next, Mr. Van de Velde stands and walks over to a sink basin and begins washing the black inky substance from his hands. When finished, Mr. Van de Velde grabs his coat from a hook and follows Mr. Sim out the doorway and onto the street where Mr. Nylander and Mr. Delon stand waiting.
The four men walk together down the street and as the video concludes Mr. Sim turns and looks back at the camera as the film’s credits begin.
Within the credits, viewers learn that the song used as the campaign’s soundtrack is also titled Stranger in a Room and is performed by Jamie xx featuring Mr. Sim, who plays bass, keyboard as well as vocals for the band The xx.
Stranger in a RoomFor the Dior Homme Summer 2016 campaign, Oliver Sim, Alain-Fabien Delon, Rinus Van de Velde and Victor Nylander express the diversity of the Dior men, as captured by photographer Willy Vanderperre.
Posted by Dior on Monday, February 8, 2016
Although Dior did share the campaign on its social platforms and through a posting with the still imagery on DiorMag, the brand does not present consumers with a path to purchase. Since Dior does not yet operate its own ecommerce for ready-to-wear, providing the necessary route to learning more about the clothing seen may be beneficial to the brand in the future.
“While the video content from this season’s Homme collection seems to be omnipresent on multiple pages of dior.com, hiding the complete story under DiorMag makes the products feel secondary to the rest of Dior’s offerings,” Mr. Ripley said.
“We would also love to see Dior livestream its shows, experiment (in a brand appropriate way) with shoppable runway showings, and consider VR experiences for its VIP customers who cannot be present at the catwalk,” he said. “Though it’s an extremely iconic fashion house, Dior must offer one-to-one experiences and premier personalization in order to stay competitive in the saturated luxury market.”
You do you
Individuality and a celebration of personality has become a common thread for campaigns as luxury houses are becoming increasingly inclusive of the wide variety of consumers that shop high-end wares.
In an effort similar to Dior’s approach for summer 2016, Italian fashion label Tod’s brought together a diverse group of talents for a personality-driven launch of its new driving shoe.
“Tod’s Band Leo Mania” centers on a cast of 12 men who come from the worlds of ballet, music, film and more. Through a series of portraits and short videos, the “virtual club” share their views on life and fashion, creating a backdrop for the brand’s new Leo Clamp shoe (see story).
In women’s wear, U.S. fashion label Diane von Furstenberg is prompting women to be themselves in an uplifting spring/summer 2016 campaign.
Introduced Feb. 1 on social media using the hashtag #YouBeYou, DVF’s campaign centers on a video of model Karlie Kloss having a frank conversation with the label’s eponymous designer about female empowerment and being a woman today. DVF is using this campaign as a platform to not only build desire for its clothes, but to begin a larger conversation about being true to yourself (see story).
As with consumer portraits injected into campaigns, a brand must also reflect its own personality through product ranges.
” Dior showed admirable variation this season. As GQ noted, the collection was ‘warm, wearable and masculine,’” Mr. Ripley said.
“In addition to showing interesting proportions for shirt and slacks separates, we saw shades of red in the primarily black collection, variations on the bow tie and the belt, futuristic sunglasses and even painted nails,” he said.
“Menswear enthusiasts from all geographies and professions are sure to find something to add to their closets from this Dior Homme collection.”
from Luxury Daily » Apparel and accessories http://www.luxurydaily.com/dior-expresses-plurality-for-mens-collection-film/
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