POP-CULTURE TROPES FIND A STAGE FOR AN UNEXPECTED DIOR SHOW LOCATION: VENICE BEACH

26 may 2022, for frame

Location

Windward Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90291, USA

Brand

The Dior Venice Beach, California fashion show employed references to the local entertainment industry to present the men’s Capsule Collection 2023.

Key features

Venice Beach’s Windward Avenue – a staple location in pop culture iconography – was reimagined for the presentation of Dior’s mens Capsule Collection 2023, co-designed by the fashion house’s creative director Kim Jones and Eli Russell Linnetz (ERL). ERL, a co-collaborator of the capsule collection, is a multi-hyphenate artist working in his native Venice Beach, California.

Signage played a significant role in the fashion show. The street’s illuminated ‘Venice’ sign was modified with the addition of ERL and Dior branded signage. Neon lights shaped like palm trees welcomed attendees to the Venice Beach Party by ERL and Dior, transporting them into an alternative setting. Opposite the runway set up, a neon sign read ‘crypto’, a nod to current technology. Blue fabric-covered structures envelop the runway from either side, resembling the form of the nearby famed Venice Beach skate park. The imaginary scenery appears almost as if it were the set of a movie, arranged to shoot a film.

Frame's take

According to Jones, the collection focuses on solidifying the idea of ‘California Couture’, which factored into the location scouting. What better place than Windward Avenue, where pop culture tropes converge? The location merges film, fashion, and art – all prevalent themes in the collection and runway – with real life. The legendary Gold's Gym and Muscle Beach Venice are within a few blocks’ radius, both references to cinematic masculinity that tie in with the sartorial cues to past Dior menswear collections by Gianfranco Ferre. Set to the existing urban landscape, the runway space resembles a film set, which is activated by its reference to and inclusion of Venice Beach’s eclectic local community.