Jones’s designs will be made predominantly in Japan, with leather goods made in Italy, at “a considered price point,” according to the brand’s release, without specific figures. It also said that Jones would offer “a broader wardrobe unrestricted by traditional categories,” suggesting that the clothing would be fluid and genderless. Jones may also likely expand his vision into other mediums beyond clothing.
Jones has long had a deeply personal connection to Asia. The designer, who in an October 2025 interview with the Financial Times said that “Asia is the future,” has consistently channeled his love for the continent into his work at Dior Homme and Fendi, where he was most recently creative director, blending the houses’ European heritage with local craftsmanship from the East and high-profile regional collaborations. (While at Dior, for example, Jones partnered with prominent Asian creatives, such as the Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama and the Korean-American designer Yoon Ahn. He also collaborated with K-pop group BTS to create custom stage outfits for their world tour, marking the first time that the French luxury house had designed stage attire for a pop band.)
Kim Jones taking his bow with Korean-American designer Yoon Ahn at his SS19 Dior Homme debut show in Paris.
Photo: Francois Guillot/Getty Images
After leaving Fendi and Dior Homme in 2024 and 2025, respectively, Jones pivoted his career towards Asia, seeking new consumer bases and cultural exchanges for his creative platform Kim Jones Studio. He collaborated with Chinese electric car manufacturer Avatr on a limited-edition Avatr 012 luxury sedan in 2024. In October 2025, he was appointed creative director of Areal, a sub-brand of Shanghai-based outerwear label Bosideng. And last June, he unveiled his first capsule collection for Aman Essentials, the lifestyle and wellness brand by Aman, known for its ultra-luxurious hotels and resorts in Asia and beyond.
Other high-profile Western fashion designers have recently been finding opportunities in the East: In January, Francesco Risso, the former creative director of Marni, became the creative director for casualwear brand GU (owned by Uniqlo’s parent company, Fast Retailing). And in September, the Chinese fashion brand Icicle (part of the ICCF Group, which also owns French fashion label Carven) announced it had hired former Gucci designer Sabato de Sarno as its creative director.
Still, the choice of location for Jones’s brand may surprise some. Hong Kong has traditionally been a financial and trading hub due to its geographic and economic proximity to China and historic cultural ties to the West, rather than a fashion capital like Shanghai, Seoul or Tokyo. However, initiatives like the recently restructured Hong Kong Fashion Fest (which spotlights homegrown designers) have helped pave the way for a growing local creative scene.
