Kim Jones’ Odyssey

Calm, cool and collected: that's how Kim Jones, the fashion world's virtuoso comes across as. To revisit his journey is to enter a time capsule – not just because of Jones's rich past and endless relationships, which includes aging Hollywood doyennes, legends in their chaotic prime, and squabbling intellectuals, but because Jones's free-flowing yet intellectual style is about disrupting 'status quo' and all about being inspired by his surroundings.

"I love it when people bring me ideas I haven't seen, I find that extremely exciting," he says.

Kim Jones was born in London but by the age of three months, he was already heading with his family to Ecuador. An itinerant childhood followed, including stays throughout Africa and the Caribbean, with frequent stops back home in London. With his nomadic childhood and travel being a major part of his life, it made quite an impression on him.

"I grew up seeing a lot of the world. For me, that was something that has taught me a lot about how cultures were different, how cultures could be similar, and how the world seemed very large.", he says.

By the age of fourteen, Jones knew he wanted to pursue a creative career, and he considered graphics and photography before discovering that fashion was: "something I could build a world around," he discloses.

Jones attended London's prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where he obtained an MA in Menswear.

Jones's numerous collaborations with the likes of Britain's Topman, Mulberry, Alexander McQueen and Alfred Dunhill have racked up millions of fans, providing a unique window into a raw, freewheeling design. The London native, who's been praised several times for his avant-garde thinking, presides over an era split between culture and counterculture, somehow at home with both, representing either pole.

"There's a curious part of me that's always been there," he adds.

Still a world traveller, today Jones is known as a street-style connoisseur constantly inspired by streetwear subcultures and their energy to reimagine tailoring and the modern wardrobe. Jones asserts a grand but wearable vision that goes beyond established genres, bringing an innovative spirit to customize luxury for all, always having one central vision when collaborating with someone or designing something.

"Storytelling is very important for me regardless of what I'm designing or who I'm collaborating with – I want my designs to educate and inspire people through the stories they tell," he says.

"I'm interested in the best of the best, and as you know, they [Hennessy] are the best in making cognac, so to rebrand it in a certain way is always interesting. For me that’s always the challenge and something I like to rise to,” he continues.

He has won the most coveted prizes and was named designer of the year at the British Fashion Awards in 2021. But the personality of this hard working British designer cannot be reduced to a label of fashion mastermind, for which he says he has "a cultural approach".

“That’s what makes things authentic, what makes things the best. "The cross-correlation – pollination of looking at fashion and combining it. I take something I've learned from one discipline and bring it to the next,” he adds.

Unruffled, and calm, he just sort of moves ahead at his own speed, like he's constantly in a certain frame of mind to withstand the pressure of doing this kind of work.

"I think it's nice to introduce things in a way that they have an ethereal sense.", he discloses.

Intuitive and innovative – that's his particular style, not unaware of the kind of impact that he's made on the fashion world and the people who've met him. And within that lies his greatness.