Teeth bared, green spikes along its back and tail, claws primed at the chest – Japanese ceramist Otani Workshop’s dinosaur-like creation Tanilla might be terrifying if not for its miniature size (and indeed, its somewhat rueful expression). Like a Godzilla in cartoon miniature, the ’little green monster’ is one of Otani Workshop’s most memorable creations, part of the Shigaraki-based sculptor’s menagerie-like oeuvre of mythical beasts and monsters (despite the name, Otani Workshop refers to a singular artist).
Dior and Otani Workshop’s monster-adorned capsule
Revealed this week, Tanilla is the protagonist of a new menswear capsule collection from Kim Jones at Dior, seeing the creature appear on a series of clothing and accessories which combine the menswear artistic director’s louche, luxurious vision for the Parisian house with the playful, inventive spirit of Otani Workshop. ’Dreamed up’ is how Dior aptly describes the collaborative collection, which spans T-shirts, bomber jackets, sweaters, as well as accessories. Some are adorned with visions of Tanilla, others take Otani Workshop’s aesthetic – defined by the rough textures of coarse-grained clay – to rework symbols of the house, like a stylised version of the ’Dior’ logo (here, the name appears more like a scribble).
Other pieces include the Dior Oblique Toile – one of the house’s most memorable motifs – here coloured in vivid shades of burgundy and pink. Further nods to the history of the house arrive in patches which read ‘Christian Dior Couture’ adorning various pieces, mostly in red. Red was a colour particularly dear to the house founder, who called it the ’colour of life’ in his ‘Petit Dictionnaire de la Mode’ (Little Dictionary of Fashion’), first published by the couturier in 1954.
The Dior and Otani Workshop capsule is available now from dior.com and selected Dior boutiques worldwide.
