"Collectors are happy people", said Goethe.
On the eve of his Fendi haute couture show, Kim Jones, 42, attests to this, he who collects successes, collaborations and distinctions (he was elected Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards 2021 in December), in addition to his immense collections of rare books, vinyls, sneakers, clothes, drawings, and even the correspondence of Diana Vreeland
(cult American journalist and editor, editor's note)
.
It is with a very British "coolness" that he ensures the artistic direction of Dior Homme, in Paris, and that of the women's collections for Fendi, in Rome, of which he took the reins just a year ago, after Kaiser Karl's half-century reign.
A heavy legacy that he accepted with a light heart, enthusiastic to take a fresh look at the archives of a historic house.
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"Kim's entire career shows that he knows how to understand the history of a house and respect its DNA", remarks Silvia Venturini Fendi.
History, yes, but with his touch and finds that belong only to him, such as a Fendi capsule collection co-created with Donatella Versace under the Fendace label, or his collab with Supreme for Dior: sneakers sold out even before to arrive in store.
"Even I don't have them," he comments.
Chanter of the Free Spirit
Right from the start, Kim Jones had her fans, including John Galliano, who bought her graduation collection from Saint Martins College, London. Since then, his rise has been irresistible and his style has imposed itself, first at Louis Vuitton Homme in 2011, then in 2018 at Dior Homme. His trademark: impeccable, English-style
tailoring
, filled with street elements and a cultured touch, influenced by his huge library: "I collect things that inspire me." For his first couture show at Fendi, in January 2021, he paid tribute to the Bloomsbury Group, these artists and intellectuals enlightened by the light of Virginia Woolf. It is to this band of free spirits that he also wanted to dedicate his book
The Fendi Set
(Editions Rizzoli), of which we are publishing a preview of images by Nikolai von Bismarck.
This beautiful book, which will be released in March, is the starting point of our conversation:
Madame Figaro
.
- How was born the idea of
The Fendi Set
, this work exploring in images your first couture collection, and of which you wrote the text?
Kim Jones.
- I started thinking about what you leave behind, a kind of legacy.
So, after working for other big brands, I wanted to document my first collection at Fendi: mark this moment in time, leave a trace.
And also show how the collection took shape.
The book is populated by famous women who inspire you…
It was about focusing on the idea of family, on Fendi and on the women I know, love and respect: Kate Moss and her daughter, Lila Grace Moss, Naomi Campbell, Cara Delevingne, Delfina Delettrez Fendi… I wanted to show their strength and their inspiring power. Values that Fendi embodies perfectly.
You are a collector of the works of the Bloomsbury Group. In your opinion, what do these artists represent today?
From the writings of Virginia Woolf to the paintings of the artists of the group, passing through the political ideas of the time and the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes, they are always relevant. I love how this group of modernist outsiders changed the way people think and made the world more modern. They have been extremely important and continue to be so.
Your last Dior Homme show, in London, was dedicated to the Beat generation: still free spirits...
Leafing through the books in my collection, I thought of the combined emergence of the Beat generation and American sportswear, of their appropriation of this look, in their way of inspiring, leading people to think and live in a different way.
They change the culture by being the counter-culture, by thinking in terms of freedom and multiple ways of being, which interests me enormously.
I think fashion always arises from a somewhat external, non-conformist point of view.
Fashion always arises from a non-conformist point of view. Kim Jones
When you were very young, did you already know that you were going to become a fashion designer?
I knew I was creative.
It took me a few years to realize that it would be in fashion.
Probably during my adolescence
You started your studies in photography, was there an influence from your uncle, the photographer Colin Jones?
He was obviously one of my heroes, because he was an incredible photographer!
But, for me, it was about doing something where you create a world.
In fashion, you create the subject you are working with, and you create the universe around it.
My uncle Colin traveled the world and had so many stories to tell… He was an inspiration, but I didn't want to be a photographer.
I was not made for this.
Why did you choose menswear at Saint Martins College?
Simply because I wanted to make clothes for me and my friends...
What does this experience bring you for women's fashion?
There is a very strict and rigid structure in menswear.
Women's fashion is much more free, you just need a dress to make an outfit, while for a man you have to put pieces together.
I love this freedom of women's fashion.
I'm still learning, watching what all these amazing women around me are wearing, and that's where my inspiration comes from.
Does your
Britishness
influence your work at Fendi? Besides, what is a
British
look ?
I think I have a different perspective. It's probably interesting for Fendi, because the Fendi family was born in Rome, they all lived in Rome most of their lives. My point of view on Rome and on Italy is a counterpoint. But I am also a universal being. From my childhood, I had the chance to travel, to see the world, to meet people. So, I also think according to the city where I am. In fact, if it is necessary to speak of “
British
look ”, it is the influence of London that is in question. London is a city of integration, very diverse culturally. That's why I love him so much.
It is in London that you have just received two awards: Designer of the Year and Leader of Change.
What's your next big fashion challenge?
I would like to think ten years from now, but here and now, I am in the concrete of an experience where we have to deal with this pandemic situation.
My priority is to work and do my best during this period without thinking too much about the future, since everything is constantly changing.
You have to be adaptable, and I am.
At the same time, questions of sustainable development are at the center of our reflections, because we all have or know children.
Is it true that you stop collaborating?
I don't think about it too much at the moment, I'm taking a break.
But if something good comes along, I'll do it!
Everyone seems to be rushing into virtual fashion: will we soon see a Fendi First “metasac”?
I doubt.
I think what we do is rooted in reality, in excellent craftsmanship that produces real clothes, so it's about staying in real life.
I'm both blunt and cautious about this: human beings are social creatures, that's all I can say… I don't know how that translates into the metaverse, and if that's a healthy direction , to be honest.
If that means a young person sitting in their room all day and not communicating with anyone, I don't think that's a desirable way of life.
The couture show is in a few days… A clue?
Celestial…
But still ?
I would say it revolves around Rome and the concept of divine creatures…
An angel passes.
Kim Jones returned to the fittings.
Waiting for this parade from another world.
The eye of Nikolai von Bismarck
Nikolaï, who celebrated his 21st birthday on August 28, 2020, continues modeling in his spare time, has joined a business school.
But remains open to all possibilities about his professional future, as he told Danish magazine
BT
.
(Posted August 28, 2020.)
Instagram screenshot @detdanskekongehus
“Whether it's photos of landscapes, interiors or models, I wanted to create an ethereal and dreamlike atmosphere. Sometimes by dark and melancholic images, superimposed, textured, slightly blurred… romantic and dark images, imprinted with grace and freedom.” The book
The Fendi Set
reveals a new facet of this young aristocratic photographer, which arouses the curiosity of the paparazzi.
Descendant of the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Count Nikolai grew up in London familiar with the royal family, letting himself be given
love stories
with Princess Beatrice of York, more recently becoming the official boyfriend of Kate Moss.
Assistant to photographer Mario Testino at the age of 16, he also collaborated with Annie Leibovitz.
Since then, his black and white portraits sublimate the pages of major magazines and his reports in Africa are exhibited in museums.
A friend of Kim Jones, he had signed a first book with him,
The Dior Sessions
(Editions Rizzoli).
"There is a timelessness in Nikolai's work that I love," emphasizes Kim Jones.
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