I SEE THE SEA: Dior has revealed its third annual men’s beachwear capsule in collaboration with environmental organization Parley for the Oceans.
“I’m proud to be part of the desire of the house to move to a more sustainable fashion,” said Kim Jones, artistic director of menswear for the French luxury house. “Nature is something important to me as it was for Monsieur Dior.”
The palette of the season runs from aqua green and shades of blue to white and the brand’s signature gray for summer staples such as knit polo shirts, long cardigans and sailor-inspired pinstripe shirts. Items including waterproof capes, T-shirts and the H-Town sandal are decked in the Dior Italique Signature and Dior Oblique motifs.
Meanwhile, a coral print is a nod to the splendor of the marine universe, the brand said. Bags such as the Dior 8 satchel and a reversible tote are offered in lightweight fabrics.
“The collection is mixing style and functionality, which makes it very desirable for the consumers,” Jones said in a statement shared exclusively with WWD.
A look from the Dior and Parley for the Oceans’ beachwear capsule, and the hammock in collaboration with Latvia-based outdoor hammock specialist Modern Nomad.
Courtesy of Dior
Dior’s beachwear collaboration with Parley for the Oceans started in 2022, in the wake of a joint research project in 2019 that resulted in new yarns and fabrics made with upcycled marine plastic debris and fishing gear recovered from coastlines and islands around the world.
For this third iteration, Dior specified that 100 percent of the fabrics used in the capsule were sustainable, with 30 percent using Parley’s ocean plastic fabric, and the rest eco-certified.
“Together with Dior, now in our third year of collaboration, we have mastered the challenge of reworking hard-to-recycle plastics into elevated textiles,” said Cyrill Gutsch, chief executive officer and founder of Parley for the Oceans. “Fashion has the power to turn everything upside down. And that is exactly what we are continuing to do with Dior — connecting what we know to innovate and change our current culture.”
In addition to the clothes and accessories, there are two more collaborations: a stand-up paddle and a hammock.
The former, decked in the CD Diamond emblem designed by the late Marc Bohan in 1974, was developed with Red Paddle Co., a British B Corp-certified specialist of inflatable paddle boards and premium outdoor equipment.
For the latter, Dior tapped Latvia-based outdoor hammock specialist Modern Nomad for a packable model with the Dior Oblique motif in shades of blue, featuring an integrated storage bag with a Saddle-inspired flap.
The collection will drop in Dior stores that carry menswear on May 16.