Exclusive | 'So excited': Kim Jones on choosing Hong Kong as his fashion label's home
- Kim Jones, the luxury fashion world's globe-trotting mercenary, is ditching the dusty archives of European heritage houses to relaunch his own brand in Hong Kong's shiny new Central Yards complex.
- The 53-year-old British designer, who previously made Louis Vuitton and Dior Men profitable playgrounds, is now betting big on 'Asian creativity' and a store that sells everything from trousers to toys to cars, because who needs focus?
- Jones claims he's 'stopped working in luxury' because young people can't afford it, yet his new venture features leather goods made in Italy and tailoring from Japan, which is certainly a bold strategy for 'affordable' fashion.
- A pioneer of the hypebeast couture mashup (remember the Supreme x Louis Vuitton collab that broke the internet?), Jones is now championing 'genderless silhouettes' and 'reversible pieces' for the indecisive wealthy.
- It's all about 'community' and 'bringing people together' in a store, he says. Because nothing says anti-divisive like a flagship boutique selling $2,000 cobra-print jackets.
Brief Summary
In a move that will send shockwaves through the fashion world's established order (or at least generate some good PR), British designer Kim Jones is relocating his eponymous brand's headquarters to Hong Kong. Jones, whose CV reads like a 'Who's Who' of luxury houses including Louis Vuitton, Dior Men, and Fendi, is apparently tired of looking at old archives. Instead, he wants to create a new 'lifestyle world' anchored at the Central Yards complex, selling everything from fluid, genderless menswear to furniture, fragrances, and even cars. He cites a love for Hong Kong's 'weird side' and its king cobras, which is a far more interesting reason than the obvious tax breaks and access to the Chinese market.
Why This Matters
For the average reader, this story is a high-fashion mirage. It's not about clothes; it's about the eternal struggle of the 'creative genius' who gets paid millions to sell overpriced goods and then has the audacity to complain about the price points. Jones's decision to 'stop working in luxury' is the latest marketing gimmick to appeal to a younger generation that can't afford his creations, all while he opens a mega-flagship that will likely sell a single pair of socks for the price of a flight to Hong Kong.