What Kim Jones did next: 'Money is worth less than time'

It was just too intense,” says designer , as he plonks down his two Hermès bags (one big Birkin with mini Kelly attached) on a chair and cracks open a can of full fat Coke in the plush boardroom of Sotheby’s auction house. Ten days before we speak, news Jones was stepping down from his much-envied position as artistic director of , where he succeeded Karl Lagerfeld in 2020, had broken. Today he remains artistic director of Dior Men’s, a role he has had since 2018, and runs the Kim Jones Studio in London for personal projects.

In conquering Paris and Rome, there can be no doubt the graduate, 51, is one of our city’s greatest modern fashion exports. An audience with him over the past decade — he was the men’s artistic director at Louis Vuitton between 2011 and 2018 beforehand — has been rare. “My time has been very, very limited for the past four years, so I’m happy to have a bit more time to get on with doing things I really love as well,” he says.



Jones is dressed down in worn denim jeans, a navy pullover and fashion hiking boots, and speaks at the speed of someone who has organised their days in 15-minute increments for a long time. “I love Sylvia and Delfina Fendi, they’re like family to me,” he follows quickly. “But you have to consider yourself number one.

Time is more valuable than money. If you can use your time usefully, that’s a good thing,” he says. “Now I can do lots of nice things, so it was a good choice.

” He pauses. “But I�.