PARIS: The exhibition “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” — currently showing at Riyadh’s Saudi National Museum until April — is a tribute to the famed French fashion house’s long-running excellence. British milliner Stephen Jones, one of Dior’s master creators, was heavily involved in the creation of the exhibition.
Jones’ big break came in 1982, three years after graduating from Saint Martin's School of Art in London. He appeared in the video of UK pop group Culture Club’s hit single, “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?” wearing a red velvet fez of his own design. This caught the eye of acclaimed French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, who invited Jones to Paris to design the hats for his womenswear collection.
“I took advantage of his long lunch break to draw like crazy,” Jones told Arab News. “When he came back, he selected 25 of my sketches.”
Jones’ hats proved a huge success and provided the then-28-year-old designer an entry into the Paris fashion stratosphere. He quickly found himself working with the likes of Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Azzedine Alaïa, Rei Kawakubo, and John Galliano.
It was the latter who intoduced Jones to the Christian Dior team in 1996. Dior is the only fashion house in the world to have an integrated haute mode (hat design) atelier, which Jones has directed for the past 28 years. . During that period, he has worked alongside Galliano (1996 to 2011), Raf Simons (2012 to 2015), Maria Grazia Chiuri (since 2016) and Kim Jones (since 2018).
“If there's a hat in Dior, I've had a hand in it!” he said with a smile.
With which of the designers at Dior have you had the most creative affinity?
I think each designer at Dior has had a completely different process, and a completely different view on hats, so I can’t compare them. For John Galliano, it was part of the storytelling; for Raf Simons it was a mid-century gesture; and for Maria Grazia Chiuri, my brief was to make a hat that every fashionable young girl in the world would want to wear. So, they’re all completely different briefs that cannot be compared.
Was your visit to Riyadh your first time in the Middle East? What were your impressions of Saudi Arabia?
I worked on the “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” exhibition in Doha in 2021. However, the selection of dresses is very different this time. I had been to Saudi Arabia once before, and I think it’s an extraordinary place. The people there are extremely hospitable and kind, and it is, of course, very hot compared to England. Some of the landscapes are extraordinary, especially the desert. I went to the Edge of the World, which is one of the most spectacular places I have ever visited in my life.
Were there any surprises during the installation of the exhibition, unearthing looks from past collections?
When we were installing the hats, some of the looks I remembered, some I didn't. But many have never been shown before, so it sometimes feels like I’m seeing them for the first time. I think the ultimate surprise for me was the Desert Beauty room, because there were many looks I had never seen before. Each and every one of them is so full of memories. It’s like asking me, “Tell me about your children.” Each one needs a specific set of skills, which was a story illuminated by the clothes. Each one reflected the designers’ approach to Christian Dior.
Do you remember every single hat you have designed?
More or less, yes. And when I remember it, I can really feel it, I can see the thought process behind it, I know the weight of it, the texture of it.
How many hats have you designed in the course of your career?
I would say about 100,000, at a conservative estimate.
Is there a hat in the exhibition that is particularly significant to you?
Obviously, the Bar suit hat (from Christian Dior’s first collection), because it was one of Dior’s favorite creations, and I continue to be astounded by its modernity.
Dior wrote in his 1954 “Little Dictionary of Fashion”: “Without hats, there is no civilization.” Would you agree?
Yes. A hat is transformational. A hat makes all the difference.
