Kim Jones taps Kaws for first Dior men’s advertising campaign

The love affair between Dior and Kaws continues.

Having tapped the U.S. artist to design a 33-foot-tall, clown-like figure made up of 70,000 flowers for his debut men’s show for the brand in June, artistic director Kim Jones decided to also feature the sculpture, representing founder Christian Dior, in his first advertising campaign for the French luxury house.

Shot by Steven Meisel, the images feature models in looks ranging from relaxed tailoring to upscale sportswear and more casual items embroidered with cartoon bees, part of a capsule collection designed with Kaws — real name Brian Donnelly — that will drop in stores in December as a taster for the spring collection.

An image from the first ad campaign by men’s artistic director Kim Jones for Dior. Steven Meisel

Among them is Prince Nikolai of Denmark, who in one image wears the look in which he opened the show: a blue-and-white suit with striped sleeves. The other models are Valentin Caron, Romaine Dixon, Malick Bodian and Lukas G.

“I wanted the advertising to reflect the spirit of the men’s summer show and the beauty of Dior,” Jones said. “I’ve always wanted to work with Kaws, I think he’s super chic and also his work speaks to a lot of people.”

The campaign, slated to break on Oct. 31 in leading magazines, was art directed by Ronnie Cooke Newhouse, with styling by Melanie Ward, makeup by Pat McGrath and hair by Guido Palau. Digital images were shot by Annie Powers, and the accompanying campaign video was filmed by Jackie Nickerson.