Kim Jones, artistic director of Dior Men, has been appointed to the role of artistic director of haute couture, ready-to-wear and fur collections for women at Fendi, the legendary Roman fashion house previously creatively helmed by the late, great Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi, who will continue to lead as artistic director of accessories and menswear.

Plot twist: Jones will not be leaving his post at Dior Men. Instead, in his first substantive foray into womenswear, Jones will serve in both roles—at both fashion houses.

"Kim Jones is a great talent and since joining, he has continuously proven his ability to adapt to the codes and heritage of the LVMH houses while revisiting them with great modernity and audacity," Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy–Louis Vuitton SE, said in a statement. "At Fendi, I am convinced that his vision and passion will highly contribute to the success of the women’s collections." 

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Jones' first women's collections for Fendi—for fall-winter 2021-2022—will debut on the Milan Fashion Week runway in February. Jones is a London native and a graduate of the MA Fashion course at Central Saint Martins. He launched his eponymous label at London Fashion Week in 2003 and became creative director of Alfred Dunhill in 2008. From 2011 to 2018, Jones led menswear at Louis Vuitton; and in 2018 he was appointed creative director at Dior Homme, where he replaced Kris Van Assche.

"I would like to profoundly thank Monsieur Arnault, Pietro Beccari, Serge Brunschwig and Silvia Venturini Fendi for this incredible opportunity," Jones said in a statement. "Working across two such prestigious houses is a true honour as a designer and to be able to join the house of Fendi as well as continuing my work at Dior Men’s is a huge privilege.”