Are the Air Dior Jordan 1's the peak of menswear?

Kim Jones returns with another legendary collaboration. Following his successful campaigns with Hajime Sorayama, Yoon Ahn and Kaws; Dior could hit GOAT status with their eventual Jordan 1 release. With no official drop date announced, the fashion industry remains to hold their breath to see the outcome of this grail.

Limited to only 8500 pairs being produced, a price tag of $2000USD, and hand crafted Dior leather, it is safe to assume that only insiders and people of importance will have the opportunity to own a pair. BUT I am willing to give up my first born if need be (half kidding) or at least wait in line for a week (not kidding).

Jokes aside, Dior & Kim Jones collaborating with Nike & Jordan Brand is a ridiculous achievement of moving menswear further away from the standard black tee and blue jeans of yesterday. Streetwear, like or not, has become the future of mens luxury. The loud designs, anti-high fashion flair and making "basic" products luxury is the much needed breath of fresh air for menswear.

Though Kim Jones has contributed to the over-branding, loud ascetics vibes he is still able to masterfully create classic contemporary designs. This can be easily seen through his time spent at Louis Vuitton. Pushing streetwear designs into a company that has never really experimented outside their classic monogram or danier subtlety.

This pair of shoes undeniably proves Jones can keep true to aged luxury designs, and still push a modernized take.

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Pioneers in menswear such as Balenciaga and Vetements ushered in the confidence for brands such as Gucci and OFF-WHITE to thrive. Specifically Virgil Abloh with OFF-WHITE stole the trend, producing over the top designs that were designed to create differing opinions.

But to me, all the noise and the shift in design mentality for menswear has all lead to this collection. With heavy focus on the sneaker culture.

The Air Dior capsule could prove to the luxury consumers that their favourite brands are growing up. Moving forward from legacy and heritage; into appealing to the next generation of wealth all while maintaining quality.

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What could happen if these shoes live up to the hype?

Everything should change drastically across the industry. Even in following the announcement of this collaboration many other high fashion companies have looked into creating their own sought after collaborations. As seen with Adidas and Prada.

Middle tiered manufactures such as Nike and Adidas could push to produce more authentic, premium collections. For the high fashion industry, this could mean losing millions of dollars every year. This push for collaborations is potentially the safest way for some companies to re-brand themselves. Dissociating from the mantra of classical luxury brands are for mom and dad. Which means maintaining or gaining marketshare. Potentially.

But what is an Evan Gandy guarantee, this collaboration and eventual collection release, will open the door for many other massive fashion labels to formulate partnerships. Which has my heart happy and my wallet VERY VERY sad.

Only time will tell what will happen to menswear. Maybe streetwear designs could be thrown out the window come six months. But for now, I will contemplate missing rent for a pair of shoes that I'll be too scared to wear on those dirty sidewalks.