South African designer Hylton Nel takes center stage at Dior Summer 2025 show

During the Dior Summer 2025 Men’s Show on June 28th, the oversized ceramic cats by South African artist Hylton Nel stole the spotlight at the renowned Paris Fashion Week.

Kim Jones, the British menswear designer and artistic director of Dior Men, found inspiration for his latest ready-to-wear collection from visiting Hylton's diverse home in the Klein Karoo.

In addition to the oversized cat sculptures that adorned the runway, Hylton's art was prominent in whimsical patterns, playful motifs, and ceramic accents incorporated into the designs' details.

Hylton, who now lives in Caltizdorp, has accumulated more than five decades of expertise using clay and glazes to develop his unique visual style.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

In a recent Instagram update, Dior highlighted how Hylton's lifelong dedication to his craft and distinctive style served as inspiration for their latest menswear collection.

Dior wrote the post,“Astonishing guests arriving at Friday’s Dior Summer25 show, the outsized depictions of animals, primarily cats, that populated the runway was the first visual indication of Kim Jones Studio’s association with Hylton Nel, whose output and aesthetic inspired the collection.”

“As the South African artist discusses how it feels having his work inform the fashion sphere, we take a look at how small ceramic creations were reinterpreted on a gigantic scale.”

Instagram user misslucybeeden also shared a post on her Instagram page, tagging the ceramic artist and captioning it with, “Ooh, I just know that something good is going to happen- Kate Bush, Cloudbusting.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Lucy Beeden (@misslucybeeden)