Dior Homme’s spring/summer ad campaign takes an unconventional turn featuring gender-bender 80s star Boy George as one of the faces of the brand. The use of the former lead singer of the pop band Culture Club, a famously androgynous figure highly celebrated in the music industry, in the campaign is a bold and progressive move for the French fashion house.
“I really tried to translate what I think Dior Homme is right now,” Dior Homme artistic director Kris Van Assche was quoted as saying to WWD about the black-and-white images, shot by Willy Vanderperre. “It’s about music, it’s about cinema, it’s about fashion … it’s about a certain memory I have of the ’80s that remains very much relevant for 2017.”
The avant-garde Boy George, known for crossing boundaries, has long been an inspiration to Van Assche and his inclusion in the series is a strong statement on society’s increasing affinity towards acceptance and individuality. The singer from the 80s has experience a resurgence of sorts, recently appearing as a contestant in The New Celebrity Apprentice.
Apart from Boy George, the campaign also features A$AP Rocky, actor Rami Malek and model Ernest Klimko. A$AP Rocky is seen on the streets of Paris wearing the season’s dark floral patchwork by Japanese artist Toru Kamei while actor Malek brings a sober, cinematic edge, pictured in a sequence of colour studio portraits, featuring artisanal eyelet and lace-up outerwear pieces. Klimko completes the portfolio with a visual link the ‘fun fair’ scenography of the summer 2017 runway show, which showcased a collection that balance heritage tailoring and a utopian sense of refined grunge.
With the launch of the summer 2017 campaign, Dior Homme also launched its very own Instagram account (@DiorHomme).