FASHION IN MOVEMENT: Dior Men’s artistic director Kim Jones has designed the costume for a new dance commission premiering at the Charleston Festival on May 21.
The performance, which brings together artists across music, dance and fashion, is billed as an “ambitious reimagining” of Vaslav Nijinsky’s iconic ballets numbers “The Rite of Spring” and “The Afternoon of a Faun.”
The event will feature new choreography for the nine-minute solo dance performance “The Afternoon of a Faun” by Russell Maliphant, performed live by the Royal Ballet principal dancer Reece Clarke, who will wear a bespoke outfit by Jones and Dior Men.
“Clarke is very talented and I’m proud to dress him for his performance,” Jones said. “I can’t wait to see him in Charleston as it is a place dear to my heart.”
The designer, who grew up in Lewes in the south of England, not far from Charleston, added, “Ballet is also linked to my personal history and was the inspiration for the last Dior winter 2024 men’s collection, especially the reference to Rudolf Nureyev, the ballet dancer, a close friend of my uncle Colin Jones.”
“I am absolutely honored and delighted to be involved in the Charleston Festival for the first time this year. As one of the most prestigious literary festivals in the U.K., it’s such an exciting project to be a part of. Working alongside such acclaimed artists as Maliphant on choreography and Dior’s Jones on costume is an incredibly special moment for me,” Clarke said.
The modernist home and studio of the painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant in Lewes, Charleston was a gathering point for leading artists, writers and thinkers such as Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, John Maynard Keynes and Lady Ottoline Morrell, known collectively as the Bloomsbury group, which has been a constant source of inspiration for Jones with his recent work at Dior Men.
Last year, the French fashion house supported “Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion,” the first major exhibition to explore the style impact of the famous cultural collective. The sponsorship followed Jones’ spring 2023 men’s collection for Dior, which was done in partnership with the Charleston Trust and featured prints drawn from Grant’s artworks and furniture designs.
In tandem, Particular Books, an imprint of Penguin, published “Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion,” penned by journalist Charlie Porter, the exhibition curator.
Each year, Charleston commissions and curates a series of original productions as part of its annual 10-day festival of art and ideas.
This year is the 35th anniversary of the Charleston Festival. It has prepared one of its most ambitious lineups for the occasion. It is also the first time the charity’s ongoing Music + Word event series, compiled by Paul Boucher, has been included in the festival.
