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Kim Jones’ extended fashion family packed into the swanky Parisian restaurant Laurent on Friday evening to honor the designer as a Knight of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest civilian decoration.
Delphine and Antoine Arnault, Gwendoline Christie, Kieran Culkin, Honey Dijon, Jay Chou and Robert Pattinson were joined by the likes of Yoon Ahn, Neil Barrett, Zac Posen, Adrian Appiolaza and Giles Deacon.
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“He’s friends with a lot of designers,” said Silvia Venturini Fendi, who first met Jones at a luxury conference in Rome in 2012. Both were a little nervous when they were grilled on stage by Suzy Menkes.
“It’s very inclusive. He really has this idea of a fashion family and a team spirit in terms of creativity,” Venturini told Fendi.
Los Angeles designer Eli Russell Linnetz said he first connected with Jones via direct message on Instagram — and the rest is history.
“He is a man who knows what he wants. “Yeah, he wrote me back and five days later the whole Dior team was in Venice Beach,” he said, referring to a 2023 collaboration between the French house and his ERL label.
“He’s definitely an amazing orchestrator in how he brings people together and how he can execute his big visions,” Linnetz said. “It’s a crazy talent, amazing.”
Anna Wintour, chief content officer of Condé Nast and global editorial director of Vogue, learned the full space from Jones’ character.
“The wonderful thing about Kim is that he very rarely does anything solo. Everything is together, supportive, collaborating, lifted, whether it’s a movie star he’s dressing or a totally unknown designer looking for her big break,” she said. “If you had visited Kim at his home in London a few years ago, you might have met a young DJ and aspiring designer named Virgil Abloh sleeping on Kim’s sofa while trying to get a break in the fashion world. And to this day, Kim is the person we all call when a young designer or an older designer needs advice or help because he never says no. “
She gave a brief summary of his career, which began with his own label, which he progressed to taking on a role of creative director at Dunhill and successive LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton menswear at Louis Vuitton and Dior, and womenswear at Fendi.
“When Kim arrived at Fendi, he was following in the legendary footsteps of Karl Lagerfeld,” Wintour said. “Kim would of course never compare herself to the incomparable Karl, but they certainly share some traits, an insatiable love of knowledge and a curiosity that is astonishing. Kim is not just a designer, but he is a polymer. He is a botanist and zoologist. “
Jones and Lagerfeld also shared a passion for books, noted Sébastien Jondeau, Lagerfeld’s longtime bodyguard and personal assistant.
“He and Karl had the same way of seeing things and getting inspiration from everywhere,” Jondeau said. “Kim is someone with a big heart in this crazy business.”
In fact, Jones did his best to mention almost everyone on his extended teams in his acceptance speech.
“If I missed people, I’m really sorry,” he said. “I’ve had a very nice life doing what I love and you know it’s great to share it with everyone. And I just can’t believe I got this! “
The British designer was previously appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honors in 2020 for services to fashion.
Launch Gallery: Dior’s Kim Jones awarded the Legion of Honor: Inside the Ceremony
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