This season’s Dior man is overcome by grey. And leopard prints. And buckle belt fastenings. And the oh-so charming Lily of the Valley. Yet as aesthetically striking as this all may seem, these compelling flourishes aren’t here just at the whim of artistic director Kim Jones, they’re a careful tribute to all that has come before, a lifting and merging of several eras in the house’s 75-year history that form their own cohesive language of style.

Now anchoring in the present, Rafael Pavarotti has captured this flurry of tailored sportswear and decades-old house details in romantic detail, featuring models Alex Khristenko, Indiana Van’t Slot, Jie Zheng, Suma Nicolau and Viktor Krohm backdropped by imagery of Paris’ iconic Alexandre-III bridge, which was recreated as a runway for the Men’s Winter 2022 collection

“I wanted to look at the archive, at the purity of the beginnings of the house, at its original impulse,” Jones explained of the collection back in January. “We looked at the initial collections and focused on the architecture, taking these elements and transforming them almost instinctively in a masculine way for today, always keeping the joie de vivre at the heart of Christian Dior’s clothing.”

For Dior Men’s Winter 2022 collection, this “joie de vivre” manifested in shawled parkas, robust saddle bags decorated with audaciously ornate beading over supple black leather, and a highly-coveted Birkenstock collaboration that translates the house codes between thick cork soles and a fuzzy outer layer. Jones also brushed off tradition by spotlighting skull-hugging Doris berets, designed by milliner Stephen Jones, sported at severe slants in tactile fabrics – and reimagining Lady Dior’s iconic puff print into a svelte Bar Jacket, with waists nipped and fabric glossy.