Ocean spray

Born in the seaside town of Granville, on the coast of Normandy, Christian Dior possessed a love of the sea and a fascination with nature throughout his life. Those are themes that Dior’s current artistic director of men’s collections, Kim Jones, continues to honour to this day, as witnessed in the brand’s ongoing partnership with Parley For The Oceans, an organisation that unites creators and artists with brands, governments and conservation groups to collaborate on environmental projects. This year, Dior and Parley’s collaboration takes the form of a slick capsule collection of beachwear crafted with Parley’s Ocean Plastic® material – responsible yarns spun from upcycled plastic debris recovered from the world’s oceans, including those surrounding the Maldives, Dominican Republic and Sri Lanka. These were reworked in Dior’s own ateliers to create refined seersuckers, silky knits and technical fabrics, then transformed into covetable mix-and-match essentials. Relaxed polo shirts, hoodies, reversible jackets and tank tops in joyful shades of aqua, coral and lemon (all composed of 96 per cent recycled material) are contrasted with sleek accents in stone and grey – Monsieur Dior’s favourite hue. For budding surfers, there’s even an eco-friendly surfboard bearing the Dior logo, a collaboration with sustainability-focussed brand Notox. Surf’s up!