Dior Collaborates with Amoako Boafo for their Men’s Summer 2021 Collection. Kim Jones and Ghanaian artist, Amoako Boafo, presents a culturally artistic collaboration in Dior’s Men’s Summer 2021 Collection.
For the Dior Men’s Summer 2021, artistic director Kim Jones collaborates with Amoaka Boafo on a collection that celebrates identity and creativity. Amoako Boafo is a Ghanaian-Born, Vienna-Trained artist that Jones has come to admire ever since their first meeting and this collaboration has been in the talks between the two since 2019.
A contemporary African lifestyle has always been a topic that is consistently present in Boafo’s works. One of his best-known works, the Black Diaspora Portraits, explores how black masculinity is perceived along with his identity. His works that are inspired by the every day of Accra, Ghana, which also carries a rich textile history. Likewise, Kim Jones has a fond connection to the continent of Africa as he grew up in several African countries such as Botswana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana. Being surrounded by its nature, culture and people has become a main inspiration for his formative images of life.
Image courtesy of Dior.
Boafo’s works are both an inspiration and a foundation, with his vivid colour palette of yellows, blues, corals and greens present throughout the pieces. Patterns of brush strokes, that are a significant character of his works, are photographed by Jones and incorporated into the garments by print and layering. These patterns are translated into a ribbed knitting texture that creates the appearance of a painted canvas. Some of Boafo’s pieces are also directly translated onto knitwear pieces through embroidery. Overall, the collection finds a connection between the bold and dashing character of Boafo’s works and Dior’s refined tailoring and their evocative sense of couture.
Dior aims to continue creating dialogues between fashion and creation, whether it be collaborating with fellow creatives or exploring new mediums. For this collection, the house will reveal its collection in a documentary-style film that’s split into two parts. The first part of the film was edited and soundtracked by Chris Cunningham, and it includes images shot in London and at Amoako Boafo’s studio in Ghana, and the second part that is directed by Jackie Nickerson, includes a look of Kim Jone’s creations. (Text Vanya Harapan)