A hyperrealist mosh-pit painting by New York street artist Dan Witz was featured on Dior Homme’s invitation. It depicts sweaty fans writhing at hardcore music gigs. He claimed, in an interview with The Creators Project last March, that “the greatest single influence on my painting … comes from the music I’ve grown up with. The artists I most admire have almost always been musicians, and most of my best ideas come from the transgressive energy.”

This could have been a quote straight from the self-confessed audiophile and artistic director for Dior Homme, Kris Van Assche. Their meeting of the minds was inevitable and couldn’t have captured Van Assche’s vision more succinctly. With a collection informed by Rave, Gabber, Candy Boys, and the aforementioned painting, we were given a literal Teenage Kick. The show opened with fitted jackets with more voluminous pants, all the better for dancing in, and cargo pant top stitched detailing. The bucket hats were pure rave, with a new Dior Homme branding under the moniker HARDIOR, a new youthful hardcore Dior for the future generation. 

Some of the more successful pieces were the tailoring with couture-like flyaway thread embroidery, and the oversize 90s furs that looked as though they had been spray-painted in bright turquoise and rust. Our favorite looks were the final five exits, which all featured an exploded version of Witz’ mosh pit paintings. They perfectly encapsulated the raw energy of our new HARDIOR man.