Kim Jones: A Look Back on How He Transformed Modern Menswear

Few people know luxury like Kim Jones. When the British-Danish designer debuted his first collection for Louis Vuitton in spring 2012, he solidified the venerable house as a leader in menswear. He then began a deep dive into the heritage of a brand long associated with high-end travel. An inveterate traveler, he used every new line he sent down the runway as an opportunity to take the viewer somewhere more beautiful and exotic than before.

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Jones's research was rigorous and extensive, from his journey to the Atacama Desert in Chile for his fall 2014 collection (which showcased enchanting alpaca and vicuna) to his eastern treks to Japan, China, and Indonesia for his spring 2016 collection. But it was one of his final jaunts -- back in time to the gritty streets of old New York -- that forever transformed Vuitton. For his fall 2017 collection, Jones brought streetwear into the label's vernacular for the foreseeable future.

No doubt that as he gets more comfortable in his new role as artistic director at Dior Men (formerly Dior Homme), Jones will start to take similar risks to distinguish his chapter there. Will he push his impeccably crafted, modern aesthetic further into the classic luxury space, or will he continue to comb through the Dior archives to change the way we think about haute couture? Whatever the case, with Jones at the helm, it will certainly be a trip.