Kim Jones' kid-in-a-candy-store reign at Dunhill continues this season with his discovery in the archives of a cigarette lighter that Picasso engraved with a portrait of his mistress Dora Maar. The house's heritage is wayward enough that you'd imagine Jones indulging his own magpie sensibility to his heart's content, and there's certainly something of that in the accessories that were visible on the catwalk. The hip flasks the models were carrying, for instance. But magpie or not, Jones once again exhibited discipline and restraint in this tightly edited show. The focus was tailoring, with the key jacket a high-closing, one-button double-breasted that tracked back to male members of the Bloomsbury group, the English bohos who set the cultural tone of the country in the early twentieth century. That may sound retro, but the jacket had shape and ease, which made it timely.
The collar-and-tie formality of the show was a reflection of Jones' commitment to the resuscitation of the English gentleman. A catwalk possibly wasn't the best place to appreciate the subtlety of his detailing, particularly the shirtings. On the other hand, the handful of sleek, modern outerwear pieces he showed—especially a couple of suede jackets with piped seams—made one yearn for the days when he was reconceptualizing English sportswear. The mere fact they were even in this collection suggests that the designer is working toward a reconciliation of the needs of Dunhill and the wants of Kim Jones. When that happens, this collection will really lift off.
